On The Edge
by leiasky
Summary: Mal orders Serenity to land on a war ravaged planet and they find more than they bargained for. Cannon pairings.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes**: At a recent convention Jewel Staite (Kaylee) and Sean Maher (Simon) told an audience how they thought the second Serenity movie should open; with Kaylee pregnant and the ship crashing. I've taken their brief idea and expanded on it. And this story is the result.

**Serenity 2: On the Edge**

**Prologue**

_The Present:_

"You need to strap in, Kaylee!" Simon called over the roar of the overheating engine. Smoke filled his vision, and only by memorized knowledge of the room did he know exactly where Kaylee was working.

"I gotta fix this, Simon, or the ship's gonna explode."

"River can get us to –"

"Simon, bi zui!" Kaylee cried as she pushed her swollen belly against an unmoving piece of metal to get the leverage to turn the dial she needed to reach. "I need ta do this!"

Simon eyed her, and the way her belly was pressed close to very dangerous moving parts. "Kaylee, please. The baby."

"I'm thinkin' of my baby, Simon!" Kaylee hissed, sparing a look at him before she went to re-wire something Simon would never be able to recognize, much less help her fix.

"The baby _inside_ you, Kaylee! _Our_ baby!" Simon cried, wiping frantically at the beads of sweat that had begun to drop into his eyes.

River was pushing the ship to its limits and Kaylee had cut off a lot of non-essential systems to give her the power that she needed, including the climate control that would have absorbed the excess heat from the engine.

"Simon, you gotta go back and strap in."

"I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly, his voice dropping as he made his stance.

Kaylee looked up at him, her face damp with perspiration and held out her hand.

Their eyes locked, overwhelming, silencing emotion blossomed, charging the air between them and the tension that had been building over the last few months instantly melted away. And as he reached for the hand she offered him, for a moment, time stood still –

– And then lurched forward again with a sharp jolt as the explosion behind Kaylee hurled her against Simon's chest and knocked them both to the deck.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter** **1**

_The past:_

_I told them the Tams were no longer a threat. Damage Done. They might listen . . ._

_And they did._

_The Operative was wrong._

_They listened, they plotted, they schemed. And, ultimately, the Tam's weren't the only ones on their most wanted list any more._

_Such control they had over the Central Planets, the Miranda information was squashed instantly, and the crew labeled as traitors. The people believed their government. They'd never been given a reason to think otherwise._

_On the Rim worlds, where Alliance control had never taken a firm foothold, even after 'Unification', it took very little for them to believe what the Miranda broadwave showed in vivid, disbelievingly gory detail. The people wanted more reasons to hate the Alliance, they wanted another reason to take up arms against them. . ._

_And they did._

_The result, this time, was an even quicker, bloodier defeat._

* * *

"Captain, I don't think –" 

"Don't pay you to think, Simon."

Simon took a moment to consider this. "You don't pay me at all, captain."

Mal rolled his eyes. "Be that as it may, I'm still the captain on this boat and what I say goes."

"'Bout time someone else was on the spittin' end of that increasingly bad mood," Jayne muttered beneath his breath as he checked the various weaponry attached to his person.

Simon wasted only a cursory glare on the mercenary before returning his attention to the increasingly infuriating Captain. "You think it's safe to land on –"

"They need help down there, Simon. I ain't leavin' 'em to die."

"So you're going to risk the lives of everyone on this ship to –"

"Ain't you a doctor?" Mal whirled, eyes blazing. Before Simon could push a response out of his mouth, Mal continued. "Ain't you obligated by that Oath of yours to render aid to them that need it?"

"Well, yes, but I –"

"Well, there's a whole planet full of people down there that need it."

"And Alliance battle cruisers not more than a few hours out!"

Mal leaned close to Simon, his tone firm, his position unwavering. "They're movin' away from the planet, not towards it." Mal took a long, long breath, and clenched his hands at his sides. "They done their job."

"Still –"

"Simon," Mal stepped closer, invading the younger man's personal space while Jayne looked on with growing amusement. "Now ain't the time to test my patience, dong ma?"

Simon set his jaw and plunged ahead, knowing what he was about to say could land him in a heap on the deck rubbing a bruising jaw – or worse. "Your anger with me has more to do with Kaylee's condition than with my very genuine concern about landing this small _transport_ ship onto a war-ravaged planet."

Zoe stepped beside Jayne and raised an eyebrow in Simon and Mal's direction. "Those two going at it again?"

"Yup." Jayne slid his most favorite knife into its sheath. "Mal's gonna have to get over it."

"Not like to any time soon." Zoe pursed her lips and shook her head, knowing that this was precisely the conversation she would be having with Mal had she ever found herself pregnant with Wash's baby.

"Almost feel sorry for the doc," Jayne glanced up at Inara, who stood on the catwalk above, shaking her head disapprovingly at the argument going on below.

"Doc can take care of himself," Zoe observed with a small smile. "But Kaylee doesn't need the stress. Not right now. Mal's too pigheaded to realize it."

Jayne slipped out a small firearm and caressed it lovingly. "Can I shoot 'im?"

Zoe's eyes slowly shifted toward Jayne, her face an expressionless mask.

"The doc! Not Mal. I ain't stupid."

"That's debatable," Zoe murmured as she squared her shoulders and prepared to intervene. "No, Jayne. You may not shoot either of them." They both returned their attention to the heated discussion going on not more than a few feet away. Zoe clenched her jaw, waiting for the right moment to intervene.

"It's not your place, and it's none of your business whether Kaylee and I –"

Zoe noticed Mal tense, and decided now would be a good time to intervene before he damaged the only doctor they were like to have down on the planet.

"Sir," Zoe pushed herself between the two men and Simon instantly took a step back, respecting her position. "We're set to land."

Simon waited a moment, clearly wanting to speak but choosing to remain silent, before turning on his heel and going back toward the infirmary.

"Boy better be goin' to get medical supplies," Mal muttered, wrenching his gun out of its holster and inspecting it carefully.

"He's got a point, Sir."

Mal stared incredulously at his first mate, unable to believe she would be opposed to lending aid to fellow Browncoats.

"About Kaylee, Sir. Not your decision to land on Athens."

"Ain't about to discuss it further, Zoe," Mal sighted down the barrel of his pistol, and its direction toward the infirmary was not lost on Zoe.

"We're all a mite stressed here, sir. Simon and Kaylee just as much as the rest of us."

"Boy'd kept his pants zipped, we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?" Mal snapped as Inara joined them on the deck, her customary silks replaced by pants and a well worn shirt.

"Don't let Kaylee hear you say that, Mal," Inara said, her eyes hard. She'd been witness to more than a few of Mal and Simon's fights over the last few months and had, amazingly, kept Kaylee pretty well sheltered from the captain's disapproval over her condition.

"Girl doesn't – "Mal's eyes swept down Inara's body and his brows knitted together. Forgetting his pervious argument over this new development, he demanded, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To help." That Inara didn't elaborate further was not lost on Mal.

"You ain't goin' out there. It's too dangerous."

Zoe rolled her eyes, knowing an argument with the Companion would not end well, as it never did for the captain. And he was in a bad enough mood already over his disagreement with Simon. Wasn't fair, really. Boy had already worn him down. Inara would sink her claws into his flesh and rend it painfully with no problem whatsoever. Not that she'd ever need Simon's help – but she'd gotten it regardless. Zoe hesitated for a moment, considering intervention, but then changed her mind and stepped away instead to keep Jayne at a manageable distance.

Inara fixed Mal with an unwavering stare. "I managed to live through a battle with _Reavers_, Mal. The only one who came out of that with barely a scratch, I might add. I'm certain I will be quite safe on a planet full of injured and dying."

"This is different, Inara," Mal's voice softened only a fraction, "It's –"

"I asked for her aid," Simon said as he returned with a case stuffed with as much medicine and bandages as he could fit and still manage to carry.

Mal whirled on Simon, eyes blazing, and Zoe tensed, hoping she wouldn't have to step in between the two stubborn men once again.

"What?" Simon stared defiantly at Mal. "You expect me to treat everyone we come across by myself? I've asked for Inara's assistance and she agreed to help."

"I don't want her off this boat."

"I'm glad you're so used to _not_ getting what you want," Inara snapped in response. "Because I'm going. Kaylee is staying with the ship."

Mal opened his mouth but closed it again, fixing Simon with a raised eyebrow.

"The only thing we currently agree on, Captain, is that Kaylee should remain here."

Mal clenched his jaw tightly. "Best be thinkin' on other things or I might just decide to leave you down there."

No one took the threat seriously, but no one bothered to respond either.

The internal gravity shifted slightly as the ship settled on the ground and the occupants in the cargo bay balanced their weight equally to keep from being jostled too badly. They waited for River to emerge from the bridge before lowering the ramp, and as she took longer than normal, Mal had moved toward the staircase to go fetch her when she appeared in the doorway to the common room with Kaylee.

Simon set down his case and moved to the agitated engineer's side instantly. "Promise me you'll lie down after we leave?" He slid his hands into hers, noting the way they shook from fear, anger, Simon wasn't quite sure. He glanced down at their joined fingers, knowing his would soon be covered in blood.

"Yeah, Simon, I will." She knew better than to argue with him when he got all protective over something. It hadn't been an easy few months, even without news of the impending, very unexpected arrival. Her moods had swung from one end of the spectrum to the other, and right now she was in a mood to cry and throw things all at once.

Mal interrupted the couple's moment. "An' lock the bay doors after we leave. Don't let anyone in that ain't us, dong ma?" Simon shot him an annoyed look – which went ignored.

"It ain't like I never waited behind like this before, cap'n," Kaylee shot back, struggling to keep from rolling her eyes.

"Well, ya ain't been six months pregnant before neither."

Kaylee scowled at Mal and turned her attention to Simon whom she embraced tightly, closing her eyes and resting her face in the crook of his neck. "Be careful, k?"

Simon nodded as Mal moved away and punched the controls to lower the bay door. He leaned back and kissed her gently, mouth lingering a little longer than he'd originally planned. He didn't want to leave either. He wanted to be right here where he could easily treat Kaylee if something went wrong.

"Let's move!" Mal called as the ramp struck the ground.

Kaylee flattened her hands atop her protruding stomach and walked to the edge of the ramp, watching as her family ran off into the dark to help the wounded of yet another Alliance/Independent war.

TBC

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Are there no medical facilities here?" Simon glanced up from where he'd just marked the forehead of yet another child with a '_render no aid'_ black X.

"If there are, they probably been destroyed along with the rest of the buildings," Jayne glanced about the decimated town, wrinkling his nose at the bodies that littered the streets.

"Most like." Zoe added, experienced eyes flitting around the unmarked battlefield.

"These are just children," Simon stood, not bothering to brush the dirt off his pants. He glanced toward Mal, whose gaze was fixed on something far in the distance. "The Alliance destroyed these people because the Independents chose to use this world as a launching point?"

"Yup. This here's the embodiment of the Alliance' pledge to bring true civilization to every earth in the 'verse." The disgust was evident in Mal's voice, but Simon was no longer listening.

As they rounded a building that had been reduced to rubble, the bodies that littered the street changed. Here, they were simply lying in prone positions, not a scratch on them.

"Tian xiao de," Simon muttered as he knelt beside a fallen woman, the bundle in her arms as unmoving as she was.

"What?" Jayne's eyes darted around the sand, confused.

Simon removed a device from his medical bag and pricked the woman's finger. After waiting a few minutes for the results, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, taking deep, calming breaths. He ignored Mal's demand to know what was going on until after he'd marked the all too familiar X on the foreheads of the mother and child.

"They used chemical weapons on these people," Simon said, an aura of disbelief in his voice. He knelt and dug quickly into his kit, producing an empty vial. He scooped up some dirt and poured a small amount from another vial into it.

"What're you doin?" Jayne asked, brows knit in confusion.

Zoe took a step back and inhaled deeply. "Checking for poison."

Understanding dawned on Jayne's face as he covered his nose and mouth. "We gonna be –"

"No," Simon answered before anyone else could as he eyed the vial he held. "This test is negative."

"So's we ain't gonna be poisoned?" Jayne asked, glancing around nervously.

"No, Jayne," Simon said with a shake of the head.

Simon looked around, disgust coloring his pale cheeks. "Why –" he shook his head. "They did nothing –"

"Neither did River, right?" Zoe asked as she approached from his other side. "Alliance does what they want because no one is strong enough to resist 'em."

"That's murder." Inara said, a disgusted look on her face.

"What's one more cowed planet to add to their growing tally?" Mal hissed as he looked around.

"They meddle. It's what they do," River observed, her eyes darting around the rubble as if she expected some hidden enemy to launch themselves out of it.

Before Simon could comfort his clearly agitated sister, they all heard the snap of wood echo around the deathly quiet landscape. Everyone's eyes flitted over the crumbled buildings, trying to determine the source of the sound. Mal, Jayne and Zoe instantly aimed their weapons, bodies tensing, as Inara and River's eyes simply followed Simon, who stood and hurried out in front of them.

"Wait!"

"Where you goin'?" Jayne called, frowning at the doctor's back. "Boy's gonna get himself killed."

"Simon, wait!" Inara called, recognizing Jayne's comment for the truth it could be.

But then they all saw what Simon had already seen: a little girl with dirt-smudged cheeks and matted hair. She was running right toward him, amidst a man's cries for her to stop.

"Help us, Sir! Please!" The girl collapsed at Simon's feet and he instantly dropped to his knees beside her.

Before he had a chance to examine her, he heard the cock of a weapon and glanced up to find a very sleek looking gun pointed right at his head.

"Let her go."

Simon's mouth fell open and he raised his hands, not wanting to provoke the big man with the weapon any more than he already had.

"I suggest you do the same, mister," Jayne said, aiming Vera at the man's head. Mal approached from the direction Simon had trod moments before, as Zoe circled around the other side. Inara was quiet but attentive as her hand snaked closer to the small firearm she kept hidden within her clothing

"We ain't here to hurt you," Mal said, leveling his own weapon.

"He can help us, daddy. He's a doctor, see?" The little girl touched the red medical case with tiny, blood-stained fingers.

"There aren't any doctors here. They're all dead." The man's voice held a resigned tone as he lifted his eyes from Simon and squinted at Mal.

"You're a Browncoat?" The man asked, incredulous.

Mal swallowed thickly. "Was at one time."

The man glanced toward where Serenity had just landed, though the ship couldn't be seen from their current position. "Just landed?"

Mal nodded.

The man shouldered his weapon and stuck out his hand, instant respect given to a fellow Independent. "Name's Aaron Richards. Volunteered to head up the communication's base they set up not too far from here." He glanced down at the girl who had taken a big interest in Simon's med kit. "That's my daughter Madeline."

Before Mal could respond, Zoe joined the group observing, "No bombs went off here."

Simon checked over the smiling girl as her father talked with Mal.

"No, they wasted those on the Independents. Saved the chemical stuff for the towns."

"They did this to everyone?" Simon stood, happy to have been able to treat one live patient.

"Only those closest to the hidden compounds. Didn't want the Independents hiding among the people so – they just decided to attack surrounding towns as well." He turned to Simon. "You're a real doctor?"

"I am."

"We've got a shelter full of people needing medical treatment. Could you come?"

Simon nodded quickly, at once eager to use his skills to help, and fearful about what he might find. His fingers closed tightly around his med-kit.

Aaron noticed the relatively limited supplies the doctor carried. "We took everything we could from the hospital before they destroyed it."

Simon nodded. "I'll do what I can." He glanced around again and added, "The initial blast must have burned off all the chemicals in the air, but –"

"The Alliance uses a state of the art chemical that does its damage and then dissipates, leaving no trace," Aaron offered with a sigh.

Mal opened his mouth to speak but Aaron moved on quickly.

"Those that survived didn't get a fatal dose of the chemical; they were inside, in basements, they knew the Independent compound was here and could likely be a target, there were shelters - or they did and are just lying in their beds waiting to die."

"Wouldn't want proof they'd caused all these people's deaths getting back to the Central Planets, no doubt," Mal said sarcastically.

"You're lucky no one saw you land," Aaron observed with a glance back toward Serenity.

"Busy with other, more important, targets." River added, her small voice out of place in this rough, damaged place.

Simon nodded and grabbed his med kit and the crew followed Aaron and his daughter deeper into town. As they walked, Mal turned to Aaron. "Little too educated to be this far out, ain't you?"

"Used to be Alliance military. Left not too long ago." As he tugged open a big heavy door, they were greeted with the stench of the dying and the moans of the injured. Simon moved in instantly, Zoe, River and Inara at his heels.

Mal turned to Aaron. "Willingly?"

Aaron smiled tightly. "I left because of what you broadcast to the 'verse, Sergeant Reynolds."

"How you know who Mal is?"

Mal clutched his pistol as he turned to stare at the man. "Guess the Alliance didn't have everyone under their control in the Core worlds, huh?"

"Not all." Aaron grinned smugly at the two men's reaction to his identification of Serenity's captain.

"The Alliance knows exactly who released the Miranda broadwave but they've been a bit too pre-occupied with this war to chase you down."

Mal tensed. "Meanin' you used to be high enough to be privy to that bit of incriminatin' intel."

"Communications Expert. We hear all kinds of things, whether true or not."

"This one was true."

"I gathered."

The men fell into companionable silence as they watched Simon work through the injured, marking their foreheads with different colored pens according to the severity of their injuries. Inara, River, Zoe and Aaron's little girl followed him, listening carefully when he asked for something to treat the multitude of people waiting in this room to die.

* * *

"Ain't right." Zoe said as she looked around at the injured filing into Simon's make-shift medical center. She'd taken a bit of a break at Simon's insistence and was now standing outside with Mal.

"What's the Alliance do that _is_?" Mal asked with a heavy sigh.

"This is worse than the Valley, Sir."

"Yup."

"At least we knew what we were fighting for. We were armed. We had a chance."

Mal recalled being pinned down for most of that particular battle. "Not much a one."

The disgust on Zoe's face was palpable. "This was a one-sided bloodbath." She shook her head. "Makes me glad we never –" She trailed off, letting her hand linger on her impressively flat stomach. She didn't think she could ever admit that she was glad she and Wash had never had a child. Bearing an innocent into the 'Verse as it was wouldn't have been what she wanted for a baby, and thinking about Kaylee's little one being born into the middle of this war had her stomach knotted more than she was willing to admit.

Mal watched Zoe carefully, knowing what she was thinking. He shared his opinion on the subject quite often lately, usually quite vocally and in Simon's face. He wisely kept his mouth shut now, however, and let Zoe work through her anger and anguish at the memories and loneliness left by her husband's death.

He'd tried to keep the crew away from the battle, for his own sanity as well as the safety of his crew. But instead, he'd received the distress call from this world and ordered, without hesitation, the same crew that he'd wanted to protect into a dangerous situation that could easily have ended all of their lives.

He shouldered the blame for this newest war. And he carried the deaths of every man, woman and child who had died because of it, there as well.

He firmly believed, with each and every war-ravaged planet they landed on, that if he'd never released the Miranda broadwave, there would have never been a second war for Independence.

* * *

"You're good," Madeline smiled at Simon as he stitched up a deep gash in an unconscious man's chest.

Simon smiled at the little girl with bright eyes. "Thank you."

"Everybody's needed help for so long. People just kept dying."

"Can you hand me that package right over there?" Simon pointed into his open medkit and grinned when the girl's tiny hand grasped it and then held it out to him. It was better to keep the girl busy, despite the kind of work which was involved. She'd been eager and a quick study, and he was grateful for the distraction, however minute, that she afforded him.

"I want to be a doctor when I grow up."

Simon's heart thudded sharply against his ribcage.

"I like to help people."

Simon smiled at her. "Me too." He continued to work with the little girl, Inara and River coming back every so often for more instruction, and found himself calmed by her small presence. If this was what it would be like to be a father, Simon couldn't wait until Kaylee had the baby. But, another part of him, when he glanced down into Madeline's wide eyes, wanted to sequester Kaylee and their baby away forever so that they would not to live through the horrors of war.

As Simon worked, he marveled at everyone's willingness to help one another. The dead were carried out post haste, water was boiled and food that was not contaminated was quickly cooked to feed those who had lived. Word spread that there was a doctor here, and as each surrounding settlement learned about Simon's presence, they kept coming, bringing their sick, wounded, nearly dead. But there were chillingly few. Not many of the innocent had survived the initial attack – which, Simon knew, was the reason the Alliance chose to use chemical weapons on the population.

Simon rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. After a few more hours, Madeline simply crawled into a corner and fell asleep, unable to keep her eyes open despite wanting to watch Simon work. After eighteen hours, Simon finally insisted that Inara go back to the ship and get some sleep. River continued in her place, working to help Simon fix and bandage those who came to him for aid.

Not once did anyone come and tell him he needed to leave. Not once did someone tell him that he needed to rest. He kept working through the night and into the next day, trying desperately to save as many lives as he possibly could.

"_I'm a surgeon Lynn," Simon ripped off his gloves and deposited them in the waste basin, then left the room, annoyance written plainly across his handsome face. "So are you. How is it that you don't understand –"_

_The small woman with distinctly Asian features slid a slim hand around his arm and whirled him around. "I do understand, Simon. I'm just –" She shook her head and pulled him into a spare room so that no one could hear their conversation. "You work so hard, you don't have any free time. You sleep here more than you do at home and –"_

"_I'm a fourth year resident, Lynn. Of course I'm here more than I'm home."_

"_Flew right by me and I started a year ahead of you." _

_Simon could see the smile try to push its way onto her face and he leaned forward and drew a finger along her jawline. "Are you jealous Doctor Yang?"_

_Her already narrow eyes grew to tiny slits and she scowled. "Not everyone can be a genius doctor, you know."_

_His question answered in her carefully worded response, he continued. " I graduate in a few months and I just want to make sure –"_

_Lynn rolled her eyes. "You already know the attending position is yours, why are you stressing so much over it?"_

_Simon shrugged. "I'm an overachiever?"_

_Simon lifted his eyes upward as his name echoed around the room. A patient was coding and he was needed immediately. He spared a brief, apologetic look toward his girlfriend and was out the door before he heard her response._

_Lynn's face fell and she shook her head. "Between your job and worrying that something is wrong with River, will there ever be time for us?"_

Simon muttered a myriad of curses beneath his breath, clenched his fist and slammed it onto his patient's chest. "You are not dying today," Simon grit between clenched teeth as he struck the man again. "You've got two kids who need to grow up knowing what happened on this battlefield." Simon glanced through a broken window into the sky, and at the lightning streaking across it heralding a rain storm that would soon wipe away all the bloodstained sand. "And not a fabricated story told by the winners of this war, either." Simon grunted as the man coughed and drew in a ragged breath.

As he turned to reach for a needle and thread, his eyes caught sight of a familiar form waddling toward him. "Kaylee?" He grimaced and returned his attention to his patient, needing to suture the man's wound before he crashed again.

Simon was grateful when Kaylee sank to her knees beside him, her arms full of bandages to deposit on the tray resting at his side.

"Why aren't you on the ship?" Simon asked, trying to split his attention between his concern for Kaylee and his wounded patient.

"Ain't seen you in over a day, Simon. Was worried. An' Jayne brung me back after he and the Cap made sure there weren't no more fightin' goin' on."

"This is a battlefield, Kaylee. Full of all forms of bacteria and disease that could hurt you or the baby," Simon's voice was tense, full of concern and a bit of annoyance.

"I ain't gonna sit on the ship with all these people needin' help," Kaylee retorted quickly. Glancing around, her eyes stopped on a young child lying on a nearby bloody blanket.

Noting Kaylee's sudden silence, Simon followed her gaze, his expression sobering when he noticed her eyes had fallen on a wounded child. He reached down to grasp her hand, squeezed it gently, albeit hurriedly. He'd learned when to argue, and when not to push - usually. It had been a painful lesson. Leaning toward her, he whispered, "Please stay close," before returning to his critically injured patient.

TBC

Chinese Translations:

**Tian xiao de** - in the name of all that's sacred

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As much as Mal wasn't inclined to give in to the uppity doctor, the captain couldn't argue when the younger man asked him to dispose of the dead. Disease would run rampant through the living if the bodies were not buried, and so the people capable of digging graves did just that. Mal'd done it before – at Serenity Valley – and the memories that came flooding back as he worked were as unwelcome as the task he'd been given.

"_Gonna be disease we don't bury 'em, sir."_

_Sergeant Reynolds looked over the broken bodies of the men he had commanded – and those he didn't. This latest battle had not been kind – to either side. "Yeah, and we don't need anythin' else killin' us. 'Nuff purplebellies for that."_

"_Yes, Sir."_

_Mal met Zoe's eyes and nodded curtly. The hostile desolation surrounding his small company was enough to steal away what little hope he had of leaving this valley alive. He touched the crucifix at his neck and gave a silent prayer. Then turned and barked out quick orders, trying to get the dead buried without risking the few soldiers still living._

Mal worked beside Aaron and Jayne in a small clearing not far from the demolished buildings. Digging a mass grave was not that difficult a task. He'd done far harder things. But the grim defeat that covered the faces of everyone he saw was enough to stroke the fire burning in his gut into a full blown blaze. After a while he had to pause and turn away from the teary, determined faces of people burying their loved ones. He leaned on his shovel while he studied Simon's trauma center and the surrounding camp – there were so few survivors in what had been a fair sized town.

But, he figured, they were lucky to have as many survivors as they did. He knew from experience that if the Alliance had truly wanted to eradicate the people on this world, it would have been done. They had no defense against the Alliance' far superior firepower. Someone had messed up, or something else must have happened to make the ships that attacked this world to leave before confirming they'd done their duty or - they focused the brunt of their attack elsewhere; maybe on the nearby Independent outpost that Aaron had told them about. Mal made a note to himself – he ought to send someone over to check it out.

"You were a Sergeant in the first war, why didn't you enlist this time?" Mal turned back to sell the man puffing as he shoveled away another load of sand with a bent piece of metal. His blond hair was stuck to his face and a light sheen of sweat showed on his pale skin, clear evidence that the man wasn't used to manual labor.

Mal's lips grew into a thin line as he continued to work. "Had other responsibilities."

Aaron glanced back toward the decimated town and down at the bodies that waited for burial, their faces covered only with torn shreds of clothing. "Your crew?"

"Yup," Mal said, his tone making no mistake that this was the end of this line of conversation. Instead, he asked a question of his own. "What happened to your wife?"

Aaron stopped shoveling for a moment and regarded Mal with a long, thoughtful look. "She's dead."

* * *

Simon came across Inara dozing with her back against a wall and unconsciously rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. The demanding task of treating all of the wounded must have tired her both mentally and physically. He understood all too well and shared her exhaustion, but he didn't have time to rest.

"Inara?"

Her eyes popped open and she instantly pushed herself to her feet. "Yes, Simon?"

"Can you please take Kaylee back to the ship? She's exhausted and I'd like her to get some rest in a real bed."

Their eyes swiveled toward where the pregnant mechanic dozed against the wall, an injured child curled up against her body for warmth and comfort. Everywhere people lay in various conditions, but it was easy for him to pick Kaylee out of the crowd.

"She may object –"

Simon found himself interrupting her with an uncharacteristic firmness. "I don't care. She needs rest."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Simon," Inara said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He exhaled deeply and rubbed his eyes. "It's just – I can't help everyone and worry about her at the same time."

Inara smiled kindly. "I understand. I'll go speak with her."

Simon forced a grateful smile to his lips. "Thank you."

As Inara moved away, Simon returned to a patient, lying quietly and waiting for him to check a hastily applied bandage. As he worked, he mentally cursed the lack of medical technology, qualified doctors, even supplies available on this world. It wasn't right, the way these people lived compared to those on the Core worlds.

Before he finished re-dressing his patient's wound, Simon heard the all too familiar sound of a patient in distress. His head shot up and his eyes darted around the room, finally falling on River trying desperately to hold a hemorrhaging patient down to the table. Her frightened eyes locked with his and he hurried over, working quickly to stop the seizure, but what little medication Simon had was not enough. He swore beneath his breath when the man fell silent, dying in a pool of his own blood.

River rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Simon shook his head and lifted his eyes to hers. He knew what she was trying to do, but he could find no comfort in her touch. "There's nothing to be sorry about, mei mei. You didn't do this. The yi da tuo da bian Alliance did."

River simply nodded and turned away, leaving Simon to his work. She could feel his despair over losing so many patients, his fear about Kaylee's health, about any and every little thing that he could not control.

Because of this, River didn't have the heart to disagree with him. Didn't want to tell him that if she'd never gone to the Academy, if he'd never rescued her and brought her to Persephone, never gotten on Serenity, never had visions of Miranda, maybe none of this would have ever happened. But, she didn't really know for sure if that was the case, and instead simply lowered her head and went to where Inara was having a somewhat controlled and heated discussion with Kaylee.

"I ain't leavin, 'Nara." Kaylee had pushed herself to her feet, dislodging the child curled against her, and stood, hands on her hips, eyes blazing.

"Mei mei, Simon's right. You need to rest. "

"AIn't no one here resting."

"I have yet to see one pregnant woman among all of these people, Kaylee."

"But there's lotsa kids with no parents," Kaylee retorted.

"You can't care for them all, Kaylee." Inara placed a gentle hand on the younger woman's protruding belly. "You need to look after yourself first and that little one inside you."

Kaylee wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "You been talkin' to Simon."

"No – well yes, I have, but he hasn't influenced my conviction that you need to go back to the ship and get some rest."

"Everyone needs help, 'Nara. I can't go. We all gotta pitch in. Help where we can."

Inara opened her mouth but the younger woman was right, and she really couldn't bring herself to argue.

"See, I need to stay here. Ain't gonna hurt the baby if I wrap a bandage around a few scrapes."

"No, Kaylee, you need to go back and rest."

Both women looked up to find Simon standing beside them, rubbing his bloodied hands on an already bloodstained rag.

Kaylee's eyes flashed and Inara inwardly winced at the argument she could foresee starting between the young couple.

Eyes narrowed, Kaylee ignored the tension that descended around them. "You ain't got a right to tell me what to do, Simon. If I wanna help, I'm stayin'."

"Kaylee, please," Simon sighed, glancing to Inara.

"Don't try an' get 'Nara to help."

"I'm not – Kaylee, the baby, and your health. All of these wounded and all of the dead, its not –" A woman screamed and Simon's attention was instantly diverted. River hurried to the woman's side, giving Simon an extra few seconds with Kaylee. "Please. I want you to be safe, and healthy."

Kaylee placed a protective hand on her stomach. "We're fine, Simon. I gotta help these people, these babies who ain't got no mother or fathers no more."

The screaming continued behind Simon and he quickly wrapped both hands around her upper arms. "Please go back to the ship and rest. You can come back, but it'll be more comfortable for you there. Inara will stay with you."

Inara opened her mouth to protest that she wanted to remain and help, but one urgent look from Simon silenced her.

"Yes, we'll just go for a few hours. Rest and shower, then come back." Inara moved to Kaylee's side, smiling tightly.

"Exactly." Simon leaned forward and kissed Kaylee gently.

"What about you?" Kaylee asked Simon, concerned that he'd gotten no rest since they'd landed. He was paler than normal and the large, dark circles under his eyes were a clear indication that he needed to sleep, at least for a few hours.

"I'll rest when I can. But I'm the only doctor and –" he shrugged, glancing back toward the patient River was trying to help. "I'm needed here."

Kaylee watched him leave with a forlorn look. She understood his need to help the sick and dying, but she didn't want it to be at the expense of his own health. "Needed on Serenity, too."

If Simon heard her plea, he gave no indication.

* * *

By the time Mal, Aaron, and Jayne finished burying the bodies, it was nearly nightfall of the second day. They were tired, both from the mental exertion from digging so many graves, and the emotional burden of searching the bodies for confirmation of the dead. Shelters were constructed to give those capable of leaving the medical area a place to sleep. Lists were made, names checked off. But it had to be done, and Mal, of the three, had experience in making sure it was done right.

Those who had not been injured still toiled for food and fresh water, and brought what other medical supplies they could to Simon. Mal noted the exhaustion on the faces of everyone who wandered the streets, lay propped up against rubble, too weary to find a more comfortable place to sleep.

When Mal stepped into the makeshift hospital, he had to search for a few moments before locating Simon. He squinted in the low light and frowned before watching as the doctor tried to stitch some bleeding wound with barely enough light to see. He watched in silence for a few moments as Simon's normally steady hands shook as he worked. When the younger man was finished, Mal made his way to Simon's side, wrapped a strong hand around his arm, and drew him aside.

"You need rest."

Simon rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and looked around the room. "As you can see I'm the only doctor –" Zoe worked tirelessly in the corner, and Simon smiled, amending his statement slightly, " – the only trained doctor and even with Zoe's experience in treating the wounded, she has questions –"

"You keep going, you're going to collapse. Then who will be here to look after them?" He waved his arm in a wide arc to indicate the people lying scattered around the makeshift infirmary.

Simon's struggled to form a retort, then gave up with a tired nod. "I see your point."

"Good. Now go outside and take a nap."

"I can sleep in –"

"No, you can't. You'll never get to sleep in this place."

Simon looked like he wanted to disagree, but he was too tired to argue. He let Mal lead him out to another area away from all the sick to get some rest.

Aaron and Jayne appeared at Mal's side as he returned to the hastily set-up medical center to see if he could lend some aid in Simon's absence.

"We're goin' to patrol. See if anything's alive out there," Jayne said with an eager smile, as he clutched Vera tightly.

Mal's eyes shifted from a sleeping child toward his merc. "Don't go lookin' for trouble, Jayne."

"Just want to make sure the Alliance didn't leave no troops on the ground."

Mal knew that if there were troops, he'd have seen their ugly purple mugs already. But it wasn't hard to guess Jayne's real motivation.

"Hopin' you'll find something of value?" Mal asked the merc pointedly.

Jayne shrugged, as if to say, _Well, yeah_, and Mal rolled his eyes.

"I'm jus hoping we'll find someone alive out there," Aaron said, disapproval obvious in his voice.

Mal turned and studied the man, wondering if there was more to it than that. There was a way to Aaron, something in how he carried himself, that hinted that he didn't truly belong with these people.

"Or at least get some goods for these folks," Jayne added nobly, like he was trying to redeem himself. "Medicines and food and the like."

Mal sighed, but gave in with a nod. Any supplies these two might find would be a blessing worth the risk of sending them out. Whatever Aaron's true story, he didn't seem likely to do any harm, and if Jayne found himself some wealth along the way, so be it.

"Take the mule," Mal said firmly.

"Nope, 'Nara an Kaylee took it back to the ship hours ago."

Mal grimaced. "Right, then –"

"We've got a few vehicles, we can use," Aaron said, stepping away from Mal as he and Jayne readied themselves. "Madeline is still with the doctor, please –"

"I'll let 'er know where you went," Mal said, not bothering to explain that Madeline was with River and not Simon. She was safe, that's all the father needed to know.

"Thanks."

Mal heaved a heavy sigh as he slowly sank to the ground, letting River and Zoe tend to the sick and injured. He would only rest for a few minutes. Enough time to store some more energy for the busy days to come. He closed his eyes and was asleep instantly.

* * *

"I don't think we'll find anything out here," Aaron said as the small hovercraft sped along the flat terrain. The further they got from the ruined town, the greener the landscape. But Aaron knew the scorched earth would be visible again once they reached their destination.

"Didn't you say there was an Independent base somewhere?"

Aaron pointed a slim, smooth hand toward a large mountain looming in the distance. "On the other side of that ridge. It's not all that close."

"I'm thinkin' we need to take a look. See what we can see."

Aaron grinned at the clear excitement written all over Jayne's face. "That'd be why we're heading in that direction."

Jayne smiled, the whites of his eyes and teeth glowing in the moonlight.

"It'll be a bit before we get there." After a few minutes of silence, eyes darting around the dark landscape, the small hills and the swaying trees, Aaron said, "Tell me about your ship."

"Serenity?"

"Yes. Cargo transport, right?" If he played his cards right, perhaps he could get these people to help him get off this world.

"Yup. We do all sorts of odd jobs, some legal, some – not. Keeps us flyin'." Jayne shrugged.

"Looking for any more crew?"

"Dunno, that's up to Mal. He says who stays an' who goes."

"I see."

"Not sure a ship'd be the best place for a kid."

"Your mechanic is pregnant."

"Yeah, don't mention that to the captain. He's like to take off the doc's head for that one."

Aaron nodded, finally understanding. "Ah, I was wondering if they were together."

"Yeah, right shame too. Uptight boy like that with a pretty thing like Kaylee. Don't seem natural."

Aaron noted the slight jealousy in Jayne's voice. "Opposites do tend to attract."

"So's why Mal and 'Nara ain't done nothin', then?"

Aaron chuckled at the exasperated tone in the other man's voice. He'd noted the tension between the two as well. "Well, your captain seems like a stubborn man."

"'Nara would agree with ya faster than me an' I'm agreein' pretty gorram fast."

"Hmm," Aaron said simply as they continued on in silence for a while longer.

"Them Independents rich?" Jayne's voice broke through the silence and Aaron's eyes shifted to regard the rugged man.

"Unlikely."

"Eh, was hoping maybe we'd find some gold. Somethin' for our troubles, y'know?"

A hint of a grin tugged at Aaron's mouth before he willed it away. "You're an intriguing man, Jayne Cobb."

As they ascended the hill that would place them into the small valley where the Independent base was hidden, Aaron could see the smoke that still burned from demolished buildings. The rancid smell of decaying bodies turned his stomach, and he could hear Jayne grimacing as well, but they continued on, looking for anything that could have possibly survived the bombing, anything that could help those who had been left alive to pick up the pieces.

TBC

Chinese Translations:

**Yi da tuo da bian** - big lump of shit

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Inara rounded the corner and stepped into the make-shift infirmary; slightly taken aback to find Mal looking at her sharply. "When'd you get back?" he demanded. "Kaylee ain't –"

"No, she's still sleeping. I took the mule back - I wanted to be of some assistance." She looked around the room, saw River dozing in a corner with Madeline, and noticed Simon was nowhere in sight. "But it seems like everyone has been taken care of for now."

"Yeah, I made Simon go lay down before he fell over."

"He's very dedicated to his work," Inara agreed, looking at the bandaged patients lying all around the room.

"Ain't never been a fault."

"Then why are you so mad at him?"

Mal's eyes narrowed and he shot her a blank look, but Inara wasn't going to let him off so easy.

"Oh, don't play this game with me, Malcolm Reynolds. Tell me the truth for once."

He huffed in annoyance and looked away, as if he was trying to find something he needed to do right at that moment.

Her voice dropped a bit of its edge. "Mal?"

The captain sighed and glanced at her. "He's dedicated to his work, ya just said. So how is it he can't keep from knockin' up my mechanic?"

Inara pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as the early morning breeze cast a bit of a chill.

"You cannot possibly be so upset with him because he –" She trailed off, noticing something, some masked look that he quickly hid. "You're jealous."

Mal snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."

The retort came far too quick for her to believe and Inara regarded him thoughtfully. Had she finally hit on the reason he was so upset with Simon? "Do you, the great Malcolm Reynolds, incapable of keeping the honorable attentions of a woman for more than a day, actually want what Simon and Kaylee have?"

"An illegitimate kid on a boat filled with criminals and fugitives?" Mal shot back, his temper clearly rising.

"They're happy, Mal. Give them that."

"A kid on my boat ain't somethin' –" His voice trailed off and he stared at her like he was taken aback – he must have finally processed everything she'd just said. "An' what are you talkin' about 'unable to keep the attentions of a woman?!'" he asked. Inara grinned smugly until he drew himself into her personal space. "_You_ keep comin' back, don't ya?"

Inara felt her smile fade and she narrowed her eyes. She didn't want to have this discussion right now. It would be on her own terms – of ever. "Yes. Clearly I need my head examined when Simon isn't so preoccupied with his other duties." She turned but Mal's hand wrapping around her wrist delayed her escape.

"Inara –"

She lifted her eyes to his, momentary taken aback by the tenderness she thought she saw in his gaze. But as she wasn't ready to give him the satisfaction of victory; she replied with a curt, "I've got things to do, Mal. Kindly let me go."

Their battle of wills was interrupted by a patient moaning for attention. Mal dropped his hand and Inara turned quickly, relieved for the momentary break from the captain's unwavering gaze.

* * *

Kaylee woke suddenly, as had been usual in the last month or so, to her baby doing somersaults against her bladder. With a groan, she squeezed her eyes shut and pulled Simon's pillow against her chest, wrapping her arms around it as if he were lying beside her.

But after a few moments, she couldn't delay the inevitable, and she stood and hurried to the bathroom. When she'd finished, she decided to check on her girl, make sure everything was all right. Even though _Serenity_ wasn't in the air, she wanted to see that everything would be right and shiny when it was time to lift off again. Besides, tinkering always made her feel better.

Kaylee felt a small pang of longing as the baby kicked again, and she grinned at her belly. "You're gonna be just like your aunt, ain't ya? Gonna drive your daddy crazy." Her expression turned thoughtful as she whispered, "Gonna be the best dancer the 'verse has ever seen."

As if in answer, the baby kicked so hard that Kaylee had to balance herself against the bulkhead and take a few long, deep breaths before continuing toward the engine room. "Ai ya, baby. Don't knock me over. Ain't time to meet ya yet."

She made a few quick checks and then decided that she'd feel better if she ran a full diagnostic from the bridge, so she made her way up the steps. She was panting a bit by the time she sank into the pilot's chair, and she closed her eyes for a moment of rest.

Sadness, as it often did, crept up on her at the oddest moments. Kaylee rubbed her belly lovingly as she remembered the various times she'd come to the bridge and overheard Wash and Zoe talking – sometimes about children, sometimes about another favorite pasttime of hers – and one that had gotten her into this pregnant predicament in the first place.

Kaylee relaxed and let the memories take her back to a much more simpler– well, for her – time.

"_Ain't gonna argue with you about this." The annoyance in Zoe's voice was palpable and Kaylee stopped her ascent to the bridge._

"_Sweetcakes, I just don't think now is the right time."_

"_And when will it be the right time?"  
_

_Kaylee could hear the exasperation in Wash's voice as he answered, "When we aren't getting shot at every other day?"_

That dream faded and another one took its place; this one far more painful, full of heartache and fear.

_Kaylee walked around as if in a daze, disbelief etched into her cherubic face. It was destroyed. All of it. Bodies littered the ground, half charred corpses and men who'd had no time to even arm themselves._

_The people of Haven hadn't stood a chance; they'd had nothing with which to defend themselves from the attack. Where was the Shepherd? She couldn't see him. Smoke plumed high into the air, clouding her vision._

_She fell to her knees as she found the lifeless body of a boy she'd come to know well over the last few months. He would smile and play with her, run to her whenever they visited. And now he was dead. They were all dead._

Unconsciously, Kaylee rubbed her own swelling stomach, silently praying that one day she would not come home to find the body of her child lying face down in the sand.

An instant beeping drew Kaylee from her dreams and her eyes popped open when she recognized the sound.

"Proximity alert?" Kaylee's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, as best as her pregnant belly would allow, and flipped a few switches. "There ain't no ships –" Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened and her heart beat doubled.

She quickly flipped on the comm, praying that someone was awake to hear it.

"Simon? Cap'n? Jayne? Anyone?" She called into it as she sat frozen, watching the large ship loom closer and closer to their position. It was so large it blocked out the moon, and Kaylee felt a cold foreboding in the pit of her stomach as it inched closer. "Someone please answer!"

"What is it, lil' Kaylee?" Mal's exasperated, tired voice came across the comm and Kaylee breathed a sign of relief.

"Am up on the bridge – the prox – "she could barely push out the words, her brain working much faster than her mouth could process and spit out. "Alliance ship coming in fast, cap'n! Gotta get outta there!"

"What?!"

Kaylee could hear him scrambling around and she held her fingers over the controls that would bring _Serenity_ to life. When he gave the order, she breathed a huge sigh of relief and flipped the switches, the ship shuddering beneath her feet as the engine came online.

A chill swept up her arms and through her body as her eyes darted from the screens at her fingertips, out the large window. She clutched her stomach as the baby kicked and briefly closed her eyes against the sudden pain.

"We'll be okay, baby," she rubbed her stomach soothingly, trying to get the life within to settle so she could continue her work. "I promise."

* * *

"Up, Simon!" Mal kicked Simon awake and the younger man pushed himself to his feet immediately. "Get your sister and get back to the ship ma-shong!"

Simon blinked rapidly to get the sleep out of his eyes. "What? What's going on?"

"Alliance, closing in fast. We need to get out a here! Go!" Mal pushed Simon in the direction of the make-shift infirmary and the younger man darted towards it, his eyes wide with fear.

Mal clicked on the comm. "Jayne, Zoe, come in?"

"Here, Sir," Zoe said from behind him, holding her comm.

Mal nodded, appreciating that she was still nearby, and all but screamed into the unit in his hand when his mercenary didn't answer immediately. "Jayne!"

"Heard ya, Mal, we're on the way!" Jayne sounded out of breath and Mal shook his head.

"We?" If that man was in the middle of getting himself some trim, they were going to have words.

"Yeah, Aaron an' me. Saw the ship. We're comin'."

Mal briefly closed his eyes, remembering his previous thought. It would be funny if the Alliance weren't closing in on them. If they got out of this alive, Mal would be certain to mention it. Even just to rile Jayne. "Head for _Serenity_. We'll take the mule an' meet you there."

He flipped off the comm and turned to his first mate. "Zoe, get the mule, I'll fetch Simon an' River."

"Kaylee?"

"Already on the ship." Mal hurried to Simon's makeshift clinic and darted inside, eyes frantically searching the dark space.

Simon appeared out of the shadows with River, carrying his medical bag. "Captain, we can't leave all these people –"

Mal wanted to hear none of it. They didn't have time. "We stay, we're dead. Now get to the mule."

"Captain –"

"You didn't want to come in the first place, now all you want to do is stay?" Simon had no answer for that so Mal pushed him out of the room. River followed, looking sadly around at the injured they would have to leave behind.

Inara appeared like a ghost out of the darkness, brows knitted together in confusion. "Mal, what's –"

He didn't waste time, simply wrapped his fingers around her arm and dragged her along with him. Words would be wasted at the moment, considering how they'd parted last. He didn't have time to argue with her.

Just as they reached the mule, little Madeline came running after them. "Doctor Simon! Where are you going? Where's my dad?"

Mal turned to lift River into the vehicle when she twisted out of his hands and reached for Madeline. "Come! Daddy is with us on our ship."

"He is?" The little girl's voice betrayed the awe that she'd be allowed to go where no one else from the camp had been able to go – the doctor's ship.

Mal scowled at that - he didn't need more passengers, and certainly not one so young. "River –"

The pilot turned narrowed eyes at her captain and Mal found himself swallowing thickly. The girl wouldn't turn on him, but the look in her eyes showed him exactly what she felt about the thoughts he should have kept quiet – or not had at all. She wouldn't leave the little girl behind, not when her father was with a member of _Serenity's_ crew.

"I'm going with you?" Madeline's big hazel eyes widened as she reached toward Simon.

"Simon –" River turned away from Mal, ignoring his defeated look, as she helped the younger girl into the mule. Inara was already there, grasping the girl's hand and pulling her quickly into the seat. "Come on, Simon. Don't want to be late."

Simon turned around at the people running toward them wanting to be taken to their ship. "All of these people –"

Mal took one look at the people advancing quickly upon their position and leaned over the side of the mule. "Get in now, Simon, or we're leavin' you behind!"

"Can't go without Doctor Simon!" Madeline squealed and reached a small hand out in hopes he would take it.

Simon pursed his lips and pulled himself into the vehicle, frowning as Zoe kicked the gears before he had a chance to actually sit and strap himself in. Madeline pulled away from River and pressed herself against Simon's side as they sped back to the ship as fast as the vehicle could go, which wasn't all that fast. They'd crammed it full of six passengers, and the overworked engine whined as it worked to carry the load.

River's soft voice intruded on Mal's thoughts and he turned to her with a questioning look. "It's a good thing Madeline and I only count as one," she said.

Mal glanced at the little girl wrapped around Simon. He'd given in when he'd taken her along, something he wouldn't have done if the events on Lilac weren't resonating in his gut. That – and he liked the girl. Reminded him of someone he once knew on Shadow – or something he could one day have of his own.

Still, helpless regret flitted through his thoughts as the mule sped away from the people crying out for help behind them.

Madeline cluing to Simon and asked, "What's happening?"

Simon exhaled deeply, the little girl's big, curious eyes reminding him of River at that age. "I'm not quite sure, little one." He brushed his hand through her long, dark hair and then looked straight ahead, at the lights from _Serenity_ looming on the horizon. "I'm not quite sure."

TBC

Chinese Translations:

Ma-shong – Now!

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Mal was still barking orders into the comm as the mule pulled up the ramp and into the cargo bay. It wasn't the first time they'd had to make a quick getaway, but it had been a while since it was an Alliance ship hot on their heels. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed River leap down, her feet landing on the deck with a dancer's grace. Madeline waited for Simon to get out of the mule before holding her arms out so he could lift her down.

Vaulting easily over the side of the mule, Mal stopped beside Inara; he hoped that the worry in his eyes would make her swallow the vitriolic remark he knew waited on her tongue.

"Get to your shuttle, take the girl with you. This goes bad, I want you off this boat."

"I'm not leaving, Mal."

Madeline, having heard that she was to go with Inara, slid her hand into Simon's and squeezed his fingers tightly. "Don't want to leave. Don't make me go." Big brown eyes begged him and Mal didn't envy Simon this situation. He'd have been tongue tied too. Tears formed in the little girl's eyes as Simon knelt before her and wrapped his hands gently around her arms.

"I need to go to the engine room and help Kaylee," he told the little girl. "Please go with Inara. She can keep you safe."

Madeline's bottom lip trembled as she asked, "Where's my dad?"

As if in answer, the roaring engines of an antiquated hovercraft echoed in their ears as it roared into the cargo bay, barely slowing down enough to not slam into the aft bulkhead.

"Dad!" Madeline launched herself into her father's arms as he exited the craft.

Zoe slammed her fist into the controls and the ramp began to lift as Jayne leapt out of the hover.

"Xiăo guǐ, I need to get up to the bridge and see if I can scramble some signals." Aaron looked to Mal for approval and got only a raised eyebrow in return.

"Yeah, said he might be able to jam 'em. Keep 'em from gettin' a lock on us," Jayne offered as Mal's head swiveled toward the mercenary.

Off Mal's somewhat hesitant look, Aaron confirmed. "I'm a communications expert, Captain. Let me try. I'm your best hope of evading capture."

Desperate to get himself and his crew off this rock alive, Mal relented. "Good. Go." Mal knew that if Aaron didn't get the signal scrambled, they'd all soon be in Alliance custody, or worse.

Aaron glanced quickly toward his daughter, and Mal nodded approvingly as he told the girl to be good and obey whatever Inara told her to do. Unable to spare more time to talk with her, Aaron kissed her quickly on the top of the head and then hurried toward the back of the cargo bay.

"I'm headed to my shuttle. She can come with me," Inara offered as she stepped forward to take Madeline's hand.

"No!" Madeline pouted. "I want to go with Doctor Simon."

Simon, in a hurry to reach Kaylee, glanced down at the little girl, ready to tell her she needed to go with Inara. But when he noticed her looking up at him with excitement and hope, he couldn't bring himself to deny her.

"Kaylee I need you in the engine room!" Mal called into the hand-held comm. "River –"

"Launching now, Captain," River answered through the comm and the ship groaned as it lifted off the planet and soared upward toward space.

As Mal and Zoe followed Aaron toward the bridge, Simon knelt beside Madeline. "I need to go help Kaylee in the engine room. Please be a good girl and stay with Inara."

"But I –"

"We don't have time for this," Simon stood, his patience wearing thin. He needed to get to Kaylee and make sure she was okay. "You need to go with Inara. Now."

A tear snaked its way down Madeline's cheek and Simon, feeling like a heel for raising his voice to the child, bent down and wiped it away. "Kaylee is pregnant and I need to go make sure she's okay." He rested his hand on the child's head and smiled briefly, before hurrying up the stairs toward the engine room.

* * *

"Think you can jam their sensors?" Mal asked as Aaron sat himself into the co-pilot's chair and began looking over the controls.

"I don't know. But I'm going to try. You don't have the most sophisticated equipment here."

"Must perform evasive action, Captain," River said, not bothering to look back at him. "Please take a seat and make sure your tray tables are in their upright and locked position. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

Aaron looked up, stunned at the dry humor that had just come out of the girl's mouth. He hadn't had much interaction with the young girl, and only knew about her from what little Jayne had said as they scouted the ruins of the Independent compound.

"If I had a tray table, I'd hit him with it, River." Zoe pulled a flight seat out of the wall and strapped herself into it.

Having heard what had happened to the amazon woman's husband, Aaron imagined what memories must be darting through her mind and quickly averted his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the quickly masked pain she tried to hide.

"I like the unlocked position myself," Mal said as he sat down and fastened the restraints across his chest and hips. "I always like to have my insides scrambled as we make a quick getaway."

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Aaron muttered as he resumed his work.

River rolled her eyes as she flipped on communication to the engine room. "Kaylee, I need more power."

The comm crackled as it came to life. "Workin' on it, River. Ain't as easy to get around as it used to be. Gonna re-wire power from everything but life support an' hope it don't short out nothin' critical."

Mal reached out and flipped on the shipwide comm. "Jayne, get to the engine room an' help Kaylee."

Breathless, Kaylee's voice echoed through the ship. "Simon's here with me, cap."

Mal grit his teeth before responding. "Even so, I want more hands down there."

The ship lurched as additional power hurled through the engine. "Here we go," River said as she gripped the controls tightly and banked so hard that she knew Kaylee had just been thrown against Simon. With a wince and a pang of remorse, she said hurriedly into the comm, "Sorry about that."

"I think I've jammed a good portion of their sensors, but we need to move out of range before they get close enough to lock on and bring us in." Aaron kept flipping switches as he spoke, grimacing as most things he tried didn't work. "I must say I've never flown on a Firefly before. Most of the ships I trained in were a bit more –."

"Advanced?" Zoe finished for him with a small smirk.

Aaron grinned at her and nodded sheepishly. "For lack of a better word."

"She'll hold together," River said as she directed the ship toward the large moon that loomed ever so closer. "Hear me, _Serenity_? Hold together," River whispered beneath her breath, certain to make sure no one heard.

When the ship shook violently from the power Kaylee was kicking out of the engine, Mal reached out to brace himself against the console. "River, I'm sure I don't need to explain how very upset our passengers will be if the ship breaks apart as we're tryin' to get away."

River muttered something nonsensical about the ratio between their chances of escaping the Alliance cruiser, and the likelihood of the ship exploding before they reached safe airspace.

Mal glared at his pilot, annoyed. "River, never tell me the odds."

River smiled secretly and responded with a quick and snappy, "Yes, Sir, captain, Sir."

* * *

Inara checked the belt holding Madeline to her chair and nodded in satisfaction. When the ship jerked suddenly to the left, she was thrown off balance and landed on her backside with a hard thud.

"You okay?" Madeline called, eyes scrunched in concern.

"Fine, sweetheart. You just don't unhook that belt no matter what happens, you hear me?" Inara pulled herself into the pilot's seat of the shuttle and readied it for departure. She didn't really want to leave the ship. Her life and her heart were here, but Mal had been explicitly clear. She was to go if she received the order.

So she sat, watching and waiting as the ship continued to shake, the floor dropped out from beneath her feet more often than she cared to count, and the ship turned in so many directions so quickly that she was amazed she could still see straight. She was infinitely glad she hadn't eaten recently, even more glad that it appeared Madeline hadn't either.

Closing her eyes, she said a prayer to Buddha that they all came through this with no serious injuries. The whole crew had suffered enough.

* * *

"Jayne, ya gotta turn that!" Kaylee yelled over the whine of the engine.

Simon stood glued to her back as the ship did its level best to knock her off her feet. With each sharp turn, she was thrown back or to the side, her weight colliding with Simon's. He was taking a bit of bruising, but better him than Kaylee.

"Tryin'! How'd you get this so tight by yourself!?"

The ship shook as something struck it and Kaylee growled angrily as she reached for a fuse that needed to be reattached. "Bein' mad at Simon always helps!"

Behind her, Simon frowned, doing his best not to speak and simply provide the insulation between Kaylee's fragile body and the multitude of sharp, hard objects in the room.

"Yeah, he makes it so easy!" Jayne's voice was partially drowned out by the groan of the engine.

By the time River's voice came over the comm to tell them they were out of danger, Kaylee was covered in sweat and exhausted. Jayne didn't look much better, and Simon figured he didn't either.

Kaylee, a triumphant smile on her face, reached out to brush her palm against the bulkhead. "That's my good girl."

* * *

Kaylee's annoyed voice carried all the way into Inara's shuttle. Once Inara consented, Madeline followed the raised voice all the way into the infirmary. She stood in the doorway for a moment while Kaylee fussed over being asked to sit in the diagnostic chair.

"Kaylee, I just want to examine you –" Simon started.

"I'm fine. You're just bein' overprotective." Kaylee rolled her eyes as he nimbly unzipped the front over her coveralls and rested the end of the stethoscope against her belly.

"That's cold, Simon."

He gave her a patient look, lifted the metal, rubbed it against his hand, and then put it back in place, not noticing that Madeline had moved closer and was watching him carefully. "Better?"

Kaylee pursed her lips. "Yes."

"Everything sounds okay." He lifted his eyes to hers, melting the annoyed expression right off her face.

"I think I'd know if somethin' were wrong." She wanted to be annoyed that he'd dragged her out of the engine room just as soon as it appeared safe; she had damage to repair and it wouldn't get done with her lying on her back in the infirmary. But she couldn't conjure any real bile towards him when he looked at her like that.

Simon didn't say anything, the air between them strained with the tension associated with the events of the last forty-eight hours. He looked away, and was surprised to see Madeline standing there. She looked up at him with eyes that were so much like River's at that age that he inhaled sharply, drawing Kaylee's attention.

"Well, hi, sweetie," Kaylee said brightly when she noticed the little girl.

Simon smiled tightly and went to prepare a nutritional shot, leaving Kaylee and the little girl to talk for a few moments alone.

"He only wants to help, you know," Madeline said, doing nothing to mask her annoyance with the pregnant woman for being so mean to Simon. Her eyes followed Simon's movements on the other side of the infirmary, as she spoke. "He's a doctor. It's his job to make sure you and the baby are okay."

Kaylee took in the child's rebuke with an understanding smile and gazed lovingly at Simon's back. "Oh, I know. Simon's real protective of me an' the baby."

Madeline smiled openly and walked over to Simon, just as Kaylee reached down to touch the girl's head. Kaylee stared curiously at the little girl as she looked admiringly up at the father of her baby.

"Can I help?"

Simon tilted his head down and smiled softly at Madeline. "Well, you can give this to Kaylee." He dispensed a bit of water into a small cup. "I'm afraid there really isn't anything else to do right now."

"Can I help deliver the baby?" The girl's eyes were wide, excited.

"Oh, ah –" Simon glanced up at Kaylee, who appeared to be hanging on every word exchanged between the two. "I'm hoping that won't be for another few months yet."

"Oh." The disappointed look on Madeline's face was evident. "We might not be here then."

"I dunno about that, little one," Mal walked right into the infirmary and stood beside Kaylee, Aaron following on his heels. "Your pop here's mighty talented. Could probably use –

Simon whirled on Mal, his eyes full of anger, and just a little bit of hurt, which Kaylee's own gaze reflected. "But you can't accept Kaylee's baby?" He moved toward the mechanic, hypo in hand, and took her arm. Swabbing it quickly, he injected the contents, set the instrument down and told Kaylee she was fine to go back to work as long as she was careful. Then he turned to Mal. "Or is it simply because it's _my_ baby that you're so bent out of shape?"

Mal's eyes narrowed. "Pickin' a fight with me after we just pulled off a billion to one escape ain't a wise idea."

Simon crossed his arms and stood his ground, causing the rest of the onlookers' eyes to shift uncomfortably between the two men. "_You_ wanted to land there, Captain."

"An' you done your job admirably by patchin' up all the hurt. But we're in the air again an' what I say goes." More to himself than anyone else, he added, "I am the captain of this here boat, after all."

Simon stared incredulously at Mal, unwilling to back down from a fight he knew he could win. The two of them didn't notice Jayne and Aaron standing in the doorway.

"Oh, a fight," Jayne leaned against the infirmary door and crossed his arms, smiling eagerly.

Aaron moved closer to Jayne to whisper, "This happen often?" as Mal shot back an annoyed response to something the two men hadn't heard Simon say.

"Oh yeah," Jayne shook his head as the men argued in the background. "The two ain't never really got along."

"I see."

"Used to be fun to see 'em argue, now its just gettin' old." Jayne eyed Mal and Simon and then reconsidered with a small chuckle, "Though it is amusin' to see the doc's face puff up like a big fat cherry when he's mad." He flattened himself against the wall as Kaylee said something in as angry a voice at he'd ever heard and stomped out of the room, leaving Jayne with no doubt whatsoever that if she'd wanted to knock him over with a punch to the gut just then, she'd have succeeded.

TBC

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Mal squinted as he watched Jayne and Aaron return to the hovercraft and begin rifling through the items they'd found at the abandoned Independent compound. Mal rolled his eyes when Jayne lifted out a weapon and began to examine it with care - like a mother would examine an injured child. He spoke to it, caressed it, cooed loudly about his new toy's ability to shoot off multiple rounds without having to cock it or reload, and more uncomfortable things than Mal really wanted to think about flew through his mind.

While Jayne was distracted with his new toy, Aaron rummaged around in a few other cases and slipped out a thin silver cylinder. Mal'd almost missed it, distracted as he was with Jayne's childish cooing over a simple weapon. Something about this situation wasn't right and Mal quickly determined to get to the bottom of it. As Aaron attempted to conceal the cylinder in his hand and walk away, Mal appeared in his path.

"Find something useful?"

Aaron cleared his throat to cover his surprise, and turned slightly to wave back toward Jayne, who was still admiring his new weapon. "Oh, we're going through a few items we managed to get out of the compound before you radioed."

Mal glanced quickly at Jayne and then leveled his gaze at Aaron. "Yeah, I'm noticin'. Anything good?"

"Mainly weapons." Aaron swallowed thickly, nervously.

Aaron didn't notice Zoe come up behind him until she'd grabbed the hand that clutched the small tube and lifted it. "Pretty small weapon."

Mal took a step away and drew his gun and Jayne, who had been listening the entire time, leveled his new weapon in their guest's direction.

"Oh, I – ah –"

"Time for some truth-tellin'," Mal said as he snapped the tube out of Aaron's hand.

"I –"

"You Alliance?" Zoe asked, taking a step back and leveling her gun at his chest.

"No," Aaron said quickly, almost too quickly as he noticed Mal and Zoe's eyebrows arch in disbelief. "Well, not anymore," he amended swiftly.

"Anymore?" Jayne asked, rounding the hovercraft to get a better look at the object Mal held.

"First things first," Mal held up the cylinder. "What's this an' why you so eager to keep it hidden?"

Aaron sighed heavily. "It's a long story."

Prodding him out of the cargo bay with her gun, Zoe said firmly, "We got time."

* * *

Aaron stood at the head of the table while the rest sat around it, their demeanor stiff and uncomfortable as they found out how a Core educated man had ended up this far out on the Rim and got a glimpse at what he was hiding.

Madeline, having only heard part of this story before, sat closest to her father, hanging on his every word. When he was done, there was only a moment of silence before Kaylee voiced the first question.

"You stole it?"

"It wasn't that difficult to gain access. My wife designed the plans herself."

"Plans?" Mal and Zoe asked at the same time. Mal turned the silver cylinder over in his hands, eager to open it but not as yet having the knowledge to do so.

"That's plans?" Jayne asked, befuddled, glancing toward the silver cylinder Mal held.

"Plans to weapons that would make defeating any Independent uprisings much easier."

"Your wife was an engineer?" Zoe asked, her eyes shifting slowly from the object in Mal's hands to Aaron's face.

"Bio weapons," Aaron confirmed with a nod.

After sharp inhalations were heard all around, the table erupted into a flurry of questions. But Mal's voice echoed the loudest above them all.

"An' you felt the need to hide this from us, why?"

"I needed to be careful. I didn't know if you were friend or foe. And my wife has been searching everywhere for us. I wouldn't put it past her to hire some people like you to bring us back."

Jayne stared down his nose at Aaron. "People like us?"

"You have to understand I needed to protect –"

"And put my crew in more danger than they were before!" Mal stood, slamming his hand into the table.

"Always happens when we take on passengers," Jayne muttered, sparing a lingering, sidelong glance at Simon and River. "Ain't never as innocent as they seem."

"How close were the plans to completion?" Simon asked suddenly, clearly hoping to alleviate some of the tension.

Aaron exhaled, recognizing the question for what it was. "Pretty near. I destroyed all the other copies when I left the Core."

"None left in some high-tech Alliance facility?"

"My wife was very proprietary. She kept all her projects safely hidden within our home."

"Guess it weren't too safe seein' as you made off with 'em." Jayne grinned smugly.

"You must understand that until a few months ago, I was as staunch an Alliance supporter as some of you once were," he nodded toward Inara and then to Simon. "But there were too many secrets, too many lies. And then with the plans to this weapon –" He stopped and took a deep breath. "Well, let's just say I could not condone the destruction of so many innocent lives on such a mass scale."

"So you took Madeline –"

"Everyone calls me Maddy." The little girl smiled sweetly at Simon

"Maddy," Simon continued with a small smile, "and left everything you knew behind?"

"And joined the Independents," Zoe finished. Though it wasn't a question, everyone could detect the disbelief in her voice.

"If I could get these plans to the appropriate people, they would be able to create a defensive weapon capable of –"

"Winning the war?"

Aaron shrugged. "I don't know but it would have given them a chance."

"Mom was working on a weapon to kill lots of people," Madeline sighed sadly. "She was –"

Conversation stopped as all eyes turned to regard Madeline. But before anyone could speak, her father moved to her side.

"But she loved you," Aaron knelt beside his daughter, put a finger beneath her chin and lifted her eyes to his. "Never doubt that."

"How can she love me but want to kill other kids like me?" Madeline asked, genuine curiosity in her eyes. "Just because they don't live on the Central Planets, just because they're not like us."

"Because the Alliance likes to meddle," River said, staring at, and through, Aaron and Madeline. "They like to make things _better_."

"For them," Zoe said, her voice laced with disgust.

"Yes."

"So what do we do now?" Jayne asked. "Drop 'em somewhere?"

Mal turned to Aaron after a long, silent moment. "Where were you headed when you had to hide these plans?"

Aaron pursed his lips, wondering how he could be so transparent.

"Wait, you weren't on Athens to fight?" Jayne asked, brows knitted in confusion.

"No, I was going to change transports and meet with the appropriate representatives in a few weeks. But after we landed, we learned of an Alliance warship bearing down on our position and we couldn't take off.

"I took Madeline and left as quickly as I could. By the time we reached the settlement where you found us, most of the people had been killed by a chemical blast of some nature. Only those who were in the underground shelters survived it. And even then, some of them got sick and died."

"You know who you were supposed to give these plans to? Can we contact 'em?" Mal asked quickly.

"Sir –" Zoe began.

Mal raised a hand to silence her question.

"I thought you didn't want to get involved?" Aaron asked, recalling his earlier conversation with the captain about why he hadn't joined the Independents the second time around.

"I don't. But you made it impossible for me now, haven't you?"

Aaron pursed his lips. "I have their names but I don't know how to contact them. The captain of the vessel that dropped us on Athens had that information."

"Then we'll just have to find someone who knows." Mal glanced slowly around the table.

"I'm in, Sir," Zoe said, without him having to ask the question.

"It's a fair frightnin' thing that you knew what I was gonna ask."

"Yes, Sir. Years of practice. I should be makin' the big bucks readin' your mind."

Mal's eyes slid to Jayne. If anyone was more apt to decline this unspoken request, it'd be the man who looked out for number one and asked what was in it for him at regular intervals.

"Do I get to shoot folks?" Jayne asked, cradling his new weapon to his chest like a baby.

An exasperated sigh preceded the answer. "Yes, Jayne."

"Then I'm in."

"I'm with you too," Inara said, folding her hands onto the table.

"No ya ain't. You're taking your shuttle and going back to your girls."

Inara raised an eyebrow and everyone but Mal took an unconscious step back.

"I'm part of this crew Mal, I'm not leaving."

"Ain't no cause for you to –"

"Which specific portion of my refusal do you fail to understand?" Inara asked, her eyes narrowed. "Do I need River to draw you a diagram?"

"Am just concerned for –"

Before Inara could respond, Simon stepped up to her. "I want Kaylee to go with you."

"What?" Kaylee's shocked look quickly turned to anger as she stood and shoved her hands onto her hips.

"I'm _not_ leaving, Mal," Inara insisted, trying to focus on the captain but was instead drawn into Kaylee's vehement reaction.

"You don't own me, Simon."

"I just want you and the baby to be –"

"I don't care if I'm pregnant. I'm goin'! We're family. We don't leave no one behind."

"Kaylee –"

She refused to let Simon get in a word until Mal demanded her attention. He glanced around the table with a barely recognizable playful gaze. "Anyone got a calendar? I'm thinkin' we need to mark this day. I agree with Simon. Kaylee needs to go with 'Nara. "

The look on Kaylee's face at the perceived betrayal made everyone's blood run cold.

"You need me, Cap. Ain't no one else that can keep _Serenity_ in the air." She stuck her chin out smugly and crossed her arms over her pregnant belly.

When no one said anything, Kaylee continued stubbornly. "I ain't leavin'."

Suddenly the proximity alarm sounded. River pushed away from the table and rushed for the bridge, Mal and Zoe hot on her heels. Jayne stayed behind to keep an eye on Aaron, while Inara went to Kaylee as the young woman whirled on the father of her baby when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't even, Simon." Her eyes betrayed the hurt she felt but she knew Simon wouldn't give up.

"I'm sorry. I just –" He took a breath. "I don't want you to get hurt. Or the baby –"

"But it's ok for _you_ to get hurt?" She snapped, hands clenching into fists at her side.

"Mei mei," Inara spoke softly, trying to calm the agitated woman. "Stress is not good for the baby."

"I know that, 'Nara," Kaylee snapped and rubbed her hands against her belly. "An' I ain't havin' it hidin' out while it's daddy is off fightin' a war we'll probably all die tryin' to win."

As much as Inara wanted to deny her friend's words, she found her lips glued together, unable to do anything but stare sadly.

* * *

Maris Kim stood in the ruins of the Independent compound and waited for her men to return with their report. She fingered a small piece of clothing that had been discovered in the rubble, knowing it had once belonged to her daughter. No Rim world scum would have anything so fine.

"If they died in this attack, someone will pay dearly," she seethed as she paced a small path around the rubble of a nearby demolished building.

Madeline was an innocent, dragged into the middle of this disgusting war by a father Maris only wanted to see again so that she could be the one to end his life.

An aide marched up to Maris and saluted. "The damage is quite extensive."

"Have you found them?"

"No, ma'am. The bodies that we've located are not recognizable."

Maris narrowed her eyes. "Continue searching. If Aaron and Madeline died here, I want to know."

"Yes, ma'am."

Another man, this time one of much higher rank, stepped beside the woman.

"Well, we know they don't have the plans."

"And how do you know that?" Maris turned an annoyed look on the man.

"Because we've captured the men that were going to meet with your husband."

Maris' eyes lit and she clasped her hands together. "Where?"

The man grinned eagerly. "On my ship, of course."

Maris turned and walked toward her small transport. "They'd better still be alive when I get there."

* * *

"Don't wanna talk to you right now, Simon," Kaylee said as she caught sight of him hovering uncomfortably in the doorway.

"We need to talk, Kaylee."

"'bout what? You not wantin' me around?" She continued to work, tweaking the engine as much as she could so that when the inevitable happened, they could get away quickly.

"That's not the case and you know it." He made no move to enter, clearly hoping for an invitation.

"Seems like it to me. We don't do nothin' but fight lately."

"With everything happening, I just want to make sure –" Simon stopped himself and Kaylee unconsciously held her breath as she waited for him to say something else that would upset her. She clenched her wrench tighter.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Kaylee's head swiveled toward the door and she straightened herself up from the engine. "Bad things happen out here all the time, Simon. You seen how it can be."

He stepped in and moved to her side, his eyes remorseful. "I'm sorry I've been such an ass but –"

"Can't protect everyone all the time," Kaylee said with a brief look out the engine room door and toward the direction of the cockpit. She knew River was there, and she'd seen just how determined and dedicated he was to protecting his sister. It was something she'd never found fault with before – until now, when he wanted to send her away.

Simon smiled wryly. "Doesn't mean I don't want to try."

Kaylee leaned into his arms and sighed when they came down around her and embraced her tightly. After a few moments, her voice muffled, she said, "Feel so sorry for Maddy. Knowin' her mom made somethin' like that."

"Life on the run can't have been easy for her, given how she grew up."

Kaylee lifted her head. "You adjusted, didn't ya?"

Simon smiled slightly. "It took a very long time."

Kaylee returned her head to his shoulder. "Yeah it did."

Another few moments of silence passed. "I just wanna help 'er, y'know?"

Simon pressed his lips to her temple. "You'll make such a good mother."

Kaylee stared at him sideways. And by the way he bit his lip, her skeptical look made him suddenly nervous. "Sure I will. Maddy don't even like me."

"I'm sure she's scared being in a new place so far away from everything she's ever known."

"She took to you right off."

"Maybe I remind her of home, of the privileges she's lost. Of what's she's missing living out here, now on the run."

Kaylee leaned out of his arms suddenly. "Meanin' what?"

Simon stammered to find a response that wouldn't anger her further. Finally he settled on a defeated, "I don't know, I'm frequently an idiot, remember?"

Kaylee grinned wryly. "Yeah, you ain't so good with the talkin' sometimes."

Simon took her hands and squeezed them gently. "Maybe go talk to Maddy? Get to know her. I bet she'd like to talk."

Kaylee's eyes twinkled. "All the time she been spendin' with you and ya ain't been talkin' to her?" She shook her head and raised a finger to his lips to keep him from answering. "Oh, no, that's right. You ain't so good with the words."

"Hey," Simon took her ribbing in stride and grinned. "I interacted with River at that age with no problems."

"Yeah, but you done grown up since then, ain't so innocent no more."

Simon's smile faded and Kaylee could tell she'd said the wrong thing. He no doubt was remembering the things that had happened to take the small, innocent child River used to be away from him. Kaylee quickly leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry. I know you're rememberin'"

"Go talk to Maddy." The quick subject change was not lost on Kaylee. "I'm sure she could use someone to talk to."

Kaylee nodded, not wanting to press him. "I will."

Simon kissed her gently, flattened his hands against her stomach for a moment before leaving the engine room, and Kaylee, to her tumultuous thoughts.

* * *

Maddy sat with her small hands wrapped around a tea mug, sipping slowly as Inara tried to get her to talk. The little girl simply shook her head each time she was asked a direct question, or would mutter something that Inara couldn't make out beneath her breath.

By the time Kaylee had composed herself and arrived at the shuttle, little Maddy was sitting demurely on the couch, picking at some invisible loose fiber on her pants.

"Hi Maddy," Kaylee met Inara's befuddled look but moved right to the couch anyway, Simon's words echoing in her mind. "Wanna come to the engine room? See its workin's?"

The little girl's voice was soft and proper. "No thank you."

Kaylee pursed her lips and tried again. "Well, what ya wanna do?"

"Go watch Doctor Simon work."

Kaylee lifted her eyes and met Inara's equally as confused ones. "Well, he's gotta work alone sometimes."

"You don't need to entertain me, you know."

"But we wanna." Kaylee slid closer to Madeline and noticed how the girl didn't so much as acknowledge her presence. It worried Kaylee. Not only because she'd never had this kind of difficulty with children before, but it worried her even more deeply that maybe she really wasn't cut out to be a mother, and she wouldn't be able to do right by her own child.

"Doctor Simon is nice. He likes to heal people, not hurt them."

Inara inhaled sharply and Kaylee's eyes flew to the older woman's face. When Inara took a seat on the other side of Madeline, she slid a finger beneath the girl's chin and forced their eyes to meet.

"I think you need to talk about this, Madeline."

The girl shook her head out of Inara's grasp and returned her eyes to that invisible spot on her pants.

Off Kaylee's confused look, Inara continued. "Simon is a very kind man, isn't he?"

"Yes."

Kaylee squinted, not understanding.

"He grew up in the kind of society you did. And – he's a doctor. He heals people."

"I wish everyone had to take the Doctor Oath." The despondency in the girls voice was such a contrast to her normal, peppy mood, that both woman instinctively leaned closer.

"To 'Do no Harm'?" Inara asked, her hand inching closer to Madeline's.

"Wouldn't be so many people dying. My dad wouldn't have taken me away and my mom –"

The women waited for Maddy to continue and when she didn't, Kaylee slid closer and Inara gently touched the little girl's hand, stilling its nervous motion.

"Ain't everyone cut out to be a good parent, little one."

Three sets of eyes snapped toward the doorway, where Mal stood, hands hanging loosely at his sides.

Inara stood quickly and moved to his side, immediately admonishing him for not knocking.

But Maddy slid off the couch and walked over to Mal, her dark eyes clearly pleading with him to take away her pain.

Inara stepped back, glancing at Kaylee briefly before turning a confused gaze upon Serenity's captain and his newest passenger.

Mal knelt in front of her and swallowed thickly. "Just like not everyone in the 'verse is good. Gotta have some bad so the good don't get all cocky thinkin' they know it all."

"Always thought it was people out on the Rim that weren't good. Was a lie." Maddy lifted her eyes to Mal's. "You're pretty okay."

Mal grinned. "Well thanks, little one, you're pretty okay too."

The women stood back and watched, stunned that Mal had such a calming effect on the child.

TBC

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mal stuttered for a moment. "You keep in touch with –"

"Occasionally, Sir."

"How come I didn't know about this?"

River calmly kept her attention focused on the control panel in front of her, setting and tweaking the course until she was satisfied they would reach their destination as quickly as possible. The two engaged in a conversation behind her didn't notice the small smile that crept onto her face as she eavesdropped.

"The amount of my business you don't know about would astound you, sir."

Mal huffed in annoyance. He liked to know everything that was going on on his boat, even the uncomfortable things. Made for fewer surprises. "An' you think he'll be able to help you locate the right people to take these plans off our hands?"

"He might."

"Well get on the Cortex and make contact with –"

"Already done, sir."

Mal stared dumfounded at her for a minute, knowing from past experience ranting and raving would get him nowhere with the battle hardened woman. "Were ya plannin' on consultin' me before you changed course?"

Zoe rolled her eyes at him. "River would have told you anyway."

Mal sighed heavily. "Least one person on this boat respects my authority."

Zoe put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We all respect your authority." She paused for effect and then continued, "Most of the time."

Mal sighed and directed his attention to River as the chair she was sitting in swiveled slowly to face him. He knew she was simply waiting for him to speak. The girl was respectful of her captain, even if she knew what he was going to say.

"Anything I need to know?"

"Course is set, we're a week out."

"Can't push the engines?"

"Kaylee still needs to make some adjustments. We've been pushing the boat pretty hard lately."

Mal turned and flipped on the shipwide comm. "Kaylee, we need the engine capable of gettin' us to a new destination quick-like. That possible?"

It took a few more moments than Mal liked, on account of her condition, for Kaylee to answer. "Workin' on it, Cap. Gonna take some time. Really fried a few things gettin' away last time."

"Right then. Just get it done."

* * *

Maris sneered in disgust as she watched the prisoner interrogation through a large double-mirror. The relatively useless information that they'd managed to glean from multiple prisoners had started to grate on her nerves. The longer she was parted from her husband and daughter, the easier chance they had to slip away – for good.

"Ma'am, report coming in of a Firefly transport ship bearing the markings of the vessel responsible for leaking the Miranda information."

"What of it?" Maris asked, still watching with hawk-like eyes through the two way window. The prisoner screamed and she simply smiled, barely giving her attention to the aide behind her.

"They say it launched from Athens."

Maris turned slowly, her eyes widening. "Did they pick anyone up?"

"Unknown, ma'am."

"Well then we'd better get down to the surface and question some people, hadn't we?"

* * *

"She don't wanna talk to me, Simon. I tried." Her voice was muffled as she rested her cheek on his bare chest.

"She's just scared." Simon shifted in bed, trying to give her more room. The bunks were clearly not made for two, and as Kaylee grew heavier, they became even less accommodating.

Kaylee lifted her head and stared down at him. "We all are." When she returned her head to his chest, she added, "'Sides, she don't even like me."

He slipped his fingers through her hair and rubbed her head, knowing that this simple motion had done the trick in the past. "That's not true."

"Yeah, it is. Won't talk to me or 'Nara. Only wants to be around you, an' even the Cap – cranky as he been lately."

"Well, it could be worse. She could be spending all her time with Jayne." Simon grinned at his own joke but the smile slid away when he noticed Kaylee didn't share his amusement.

He could feel, rather than see, the tears leak out the corner of her eyes and Simon, as was usual in this case, didn't really know what to do. He never knew what to do when Kaylee cried, except apologize. But – he hadn't done anything – this time. His confusion was short-lived when she spoke again.

"What if I ain't cut out to be a good momma?"

Simon tensed, and then said, as usual, the first thing that came into his head. "I don't believe that for a moment."

"You're prejudiced."

He didn't like the way her mood fell. "No – well, yes, I'm sure I am. But that doesn't make it any less true."

"Then why –"

"Not all women are like her mother. Hateful and bent on annihilating enemies of the Alliance on a mass scale."

Kaylee lifted her head, a smile tugging its way onto her lips.

Simon cocked his head and amended with a devilish grin, "well you're not that way most of the time."

Kaylee gasped in mock horror and slapped his arm.

Simon wrapped his hand around her waist and brought her closer. "Except when you're mad."

"Which is all the time lately," she added with a slight frown.

"It's been a stressful –" Simon trailed off, thinking 'week' but really wanting to say 'months'.

"Long time," Kaylee answered and lay her head back down on his chest. After a few moments of silence, she continued. "You think that's really what it is?"

Simon nodded, grateful to see the slow shift in Kaylee's sullen mood. "I think her attitude toward you is a manifestation of her fear that all women are like her mother and –" He trailed off when her eyes began to cross and said simply. "Yes."

She lowered her head and pressed a kiss to his bare chest. "'K. I'll talk to her tomorrow then."

"I'll help you in the engine room tomorrow as well. Mal seems to think that having you sit on the engine every moment of every day scares it into running at maximum efficiency.

"Ya don't know the difference between a press regulator and a sonic wrench, Simon. Ya know ya ain't gonna be any help."

"I've helped you in there before."

"Fixin' what's broke is real different from sexin'." She lifted her head, eyes twinkling in the dim light of the room. . She always liked to see the look, and blush, on his face whenever she mentioned sex in the engine room. He had no doubt in his mind their baby had been conceived here.

"Nothing's broken yet."

"Will be if River keeps pushin' the engine so hard. Get us stranded out here." Silence fell for a moment before she continued. "But then we wouldn't have to leave. We'd be together."

Simon was loathe to open up this can of worms again, but he wanted to reassure her. "As soon as we deliver those plans, we'll come back to you, you know that." And when he felt her stiffen in his arms, he realized that had been a bad decision.

She didn't say anything, and he wondered if he should keep speaking. It had never really done him a service in the past, so, against his better judgment, he remained silent.

It took him a very long time to fall asleep. And when he did, his dreams were plagued with nightmares.

"_We need to fix us, Kaylee."_

_She stopped and swiveled slowly to face him, the anger fading from her face to be replaced by a curiously blank look. "Are we broke?"_

_Simon took a step forward, swallowing nervously. "I don't want us to be. But – Kaylee. This is so dangerous and I –"_

"_Don't want me an' the baby here."_

"_Yes. No. Right. Yes. I don't want you here." Simon cursed his inability to speak to this woman without stumbling over his words. "I don't want you to get hurt."_

_Kaylee's nostrils flared and she took a step closer, hands clenched around a tool that looked much too large for her hand. "An' what I want don't matter?"_

"_Kaylee," Simon didn't know why she couldn't understand what he was saying. _

_He knew if she hadn't been so upset, she'd have laughed at the fear that flickered in his eyes as she took a step closer, wrench in hand. "You ever think that I don't wanna go because I'm afraid I'll never see you again? That our baby will grow up not knowin' its daddy?"_

_Simon was in front of her in an instant, gentle hands resting on her shoulders. "I want you to be safe. If – if something happens to us, getting these plans into the right hands –"_

"_I don't wanna leave you," she shook her head stubbornly. _

"_Even to keep our baby safe?" He knew it was a low blow, but she'd left him with no other options. He wanted her off _Serenity_. Safe. And if the only way to do it was play on the innocence of their unborn child, then he would. He couldn't go with her as much as he wanted to. He would be needed on the ship to treat injuries that could arise from this suicide mission._

_She stepped away as tears formed in her eyes. "That's low, Simon."_

When his eyes snapped open, he noticed Kaylee staring down at him, concern on her face, her cheeks wet. It was clear he'd been talking in his sleep and he tensed at what he could remember saying in his dream. He wasn't up for a fight right now. He was exhausted. And the nightmare hadn't helped.

But Kaylee just leaned down and pressed her lips to his and whispered, "We'll go." She rubbed her belly and repeated, "We'll go."

* * *

"You fei fei de pi yan, I'm not leaving." Inara stood her ground, hands on her hips, eyes blazing.

Mal had been trying to convince her for hours. And in the absence of any break in her steely resolve, he finally went for his last resort. "I don't want you an' these kids on this ship. We ain't flyin' toward a recreational beach here."

Inara's demeanor changed not a bit as she regarded him with hurt eyes. "That's low, Mal. Using Madeline and Kaylee's baby to get me to leave."

"It's true!"

"It might be part of the reason, what's the rest?"

Mal looked away for a moment so she wouldn't see the longing in his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It wouldn't take a Reader to know you're lying through your teeth."

Mal scowled at her. Woman could read him far too easily for his liking. "Fancy lass like you don't belong on a boat like this. We'll destroy everything you've worked for. You don't deserve that."

Momentarily taken aback by his words, Inara could only say, "I made my choice, Mal." As an afterthought, and when he couldn't form a quick enough retort, she continued, "And since when do you care about my work? As I recall, you despise what I do for a living."

Mal's eyes lifted to her face and she was momentarily stunned by the warmth she saw there. But it quickly faded as he answered, "Just because I don't like you whorin' yourself out to the highest bidder –"

Inara's arms dropped from her waist to hang loosely at her sides. "And you were doing so well the last few months. I was wondering when you'd finally slip and revert back to your old ways."

Mal's eyes narrowed as he tried a different tactic. Maybe if he angered her enough, she'd leave, take his shuttle, lil' Kaylee and Madeline, and not look back. "Once a whore always a whore. Don't matter if you dress up all fancy-like. Just means you can charge more, right?"

"Get out, Mal," Inara snapped, hurt flickering in her eyes at his callous remark.

"That mean you're leavin'?" He hoped he wouldn't have to go on, that what had been said so far would anger her enough to want to get off his ship and to safety.

"This will be the last order you give that I obey, Malcolm Reynolds." Mal could tell just by her stance that she wanted to hit him. He wasn't sure when he'd become so overprotective; she'd accompanied them on dangerous jobs before. But something had changed, and examining those feelings too closely made his heart clench with irrational fear.

Her firm, unwavering voice broke through his internal reverie. "Now. Get out."

He said nothing. Simply backed toward the door. He'd outworn his welcome, as was usually the case. He'd pick up the pieces later, once he knew Inara, Kaylee and the little one were safe. He'd mend those fences he just trampled because he cared. Mal turned away but then looked back over his shoulder.

Had Inara been looking at him just then, there would have been no mistaking the love shining in his eyes – as well as the regret.

* * *

Madeline watched him from the doorway, entranced by the confidence with which he moved. He was comfortable in this place, but she shivered from the cold, dull color and feeling the room gave her.

When he cursed and hurled a packet of weaves across the counter, Madeline's eyes widened. She'd seen him exhibit nothing but a calm, cool, collectiveness since she'd met him, but something was wrong.

"Can I help?" she asked.

Simon whirled, surprised to be caught in the middle of a very uncharacteristic, however brief, tantrum. "Oh, ah, no, Maddy. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me," she said with a blunt perceptiveness only a child ­– and Jayne – seemed to possess.

Simon tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes and he knew the girl could see it. "Well, I appreciate your offer but there's really nothing you can do."

"Do you have to stay?"

When Simon didn't have a quick enough answer, she explained. "Here. When they all go to take those plans. Can't you come with us on the shuttle? What if Kaylee and the baby need you?"

Simon swallowed hard and motioned Madeline into the room. When she looked up at him with big, curious eyes, he knelt in front of her and tried to explain. "Where you're going – You will have access to medical facilities if you need them." He lifted his eyes and glanced around the infirmary before dropping them once again to the girl's face. "The crew, well, they only have me. If something goes wrong. If someone gets hurt, I'm the only one who can patch them up."

"Oh." The girl frowned and Simon felt his heart plummet into his shoes. He didn't understand why, out of all of them, Madeline had clung to him so tightly, but he felt himself needing to reassure her, put a smile on her face again – or at least get rid of that frown.

"You can do something for me, though, while you're gone."

The girl's eyes lit and a half smile returned to her face. "What?"

"Look after Kaylee for me? Try and keep her calm? Sit with her. Talk to her. Just – engage her; to keep her mind off _Serenity_."

Madeline didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea and Simon noticed right away. "Is something wrong?"

Madeline shrugged. "I don't want to go either."

Simon embraced her gently and whispered, "Neither do I."

For a long while Maddy wondered if he meant that he didn't want _her_ to go, or that _he_ didn't want to go and leave Kaylee. She was too comfortable in his arms to ask and risk upsetting him further.

* * *

"We had to break off pursuit to follow up on reports of civil unrest further into the system," the man answered, wondering why the look on this woman's face put the fear of every known God into him.

Maris scowled deeply, the disgust on her face evident. "Send us all the information you have on _Serenity_'s last known whereabouts and we will continue the search. They are carrying some very important cargo and it is imperative that it be retrieved post haste."

The man glanced down and nodded to the ensign sitting at a console. "Transferring now." After a confirmation of receipt, the man added, "Will you be needing aid?"

"A Cortex-wide message has been sent out to keep an eye out for this ship. That is enough. We will pursue its last known location."

"Good luck."

The screen blinked out and Maris lifted her eyes to the window before her, staring out into the black. "They're going to need it."

TBC

Chinese Translation:

**Fei fei de pi yan** - babboon's butt crack

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"We're two weeks out from where we're supposed to meet Zoe's contact," Mal said, sparing a brief look to everyone sitting around the table. "We'll be dropping Inara, Kaylee and Madeline off on Newhall since we're passin' right close to the planet anyway. All goes well, we'll come back an' get 'em when were' done."

"All don't go well, we don't never see you again," Kaylee said beneath her breath.

"Least you'll be alive," Mal said firmly. He didn't want to discuss this any further. There was a tension between Simon and Kaylee, though they tried to hide it. It wasn't fair to separate them now, not with Kaylee so close to delivering. But – he'd made his decision. His crew needed to accept it.

"Are we done here?" Inara said, her voice short and curt.

"We're done discussin' all you need to hear," came Mal's quick retort. If he showed weakness now, there was no telling what would happen. He needed to hold out until they got back.

"Good." Inara stood and walked out, the hem of her dress brushing the deck as she smoothly disappeared around the nearest corner.

Kaylee pushed herself to her feet, determined to talk to her friend, but frowned when Simon stood to assist.

"I'm fine, Simon," Kaylee said. She was perfectly capable of getting up on her own. She was pregnant, not an invalid.

Simon dropped his arm but continued to watch her with a physician's trained eye.

"Need to keep an eye on the engine. Make sure nothin' breaks." Kaylee met his gaze with a firm one of her own. "I'm not gonna break, Simon. You gotta stop treatin' me like I might." Without another look, she walked away, the room strangely silent behind her.

It took a few moments before anyone spoke. Even Jayne remained conspicuously silent during the entire exchange. Nor did he crack a joke of any kind once the women had left the room.

Simon resumed his seat, a sullen look on his face. River tried to comfort him, but he would have none of it. He simply crossed his hands in front of him on the table and stared at them, clearly trying to make sense of the mess his life had become.

Madeline scooted closer and slid one of her hands into his as Mal cleared his throat and began to give them all a much more detailed rundown of their plans.

* * *

Kaylee ambled dejectedly across the room, after calling for Inara and receiving her customary greeting. The mechanic's shoulders slumped as she sank into the Companion's plush couch. She didn't need to say anything before Inara's smooth, rich voice offered small comfort.

"He wants what's best for you and the baby, mei mei." Inara fluffed a plush pillow and offered to put it behind the pregnant woman's back.

"He knows I might be needed here," Kaylee said sullenly, "so does the cap. But he still wants to send me away." She rested her hands on her belly, rubbing absently as she knew all pregnant woman did. The repetitive motion usually soothed her nerves, and settled the baby when it was particularly active. But it hadn't been working lately. She hated herself for her reaction to the seemingly uncontrollable hormonal changes her body had gone through. "I'll be such a bad mom."

Inara sat swiftly and took the mechanic's hands in her own. "Don't say that, Kaylee. It's not true."

"I'm mad at Simon for wantin' to send us away. All I can think about is what it'll be like when he don't come back. How I'll have to raise the baby without 'im."

"Don't think that way, Kaylee. Never think that way. They'll come back and get us." Inara's voice was steady, but Kaylee knew she didn't truly believe those words.

Kaylee's gaze hardened as she stared into her friend's eyes, wanting to hear it again. If Inara said it, she'd believe it. "Do you really think that, 'Nara? 'Cause I'm thinkin' you're just as scared of leavin' as I am."

Inara blinked back her surprise at the younger woman's question. But years of training had given her the ability to lie and so she denied it smoothly. "I _know_ they'll come back for us."

Kaylee stared at Inara for a moment, her jaw tense with doubt, then she sighed and looked away. Silence fell for a moment before she confessed, "I feel bad 'bout bein' so mad. But – he didn't give me no choice. He just said, 'this is where you're goin'. We didn't talk about it like we should have. Not really."

"He just wants to protect you," came a small voice from the other side of the room.

Both women glanced up sharply as Madeline walked slowly over to stand before them, her hands clasped politely in front of her.

Kaylee sighed heavily and glanced down at her hands. "I know."

"He's real upset," Madeline said with a bluntness they should be used to by now.

The women noticed the younger girl's eyes flit around the shuttle, clearly nervous. She never seemed so uncomfortable around Simon, Mal or any of the men.

Kaylee forced a smile to her lips. There was no reason the little girl needed to see her so distraught. She patted the cushion beside her and invited Maddy to come sit.

"No, its ok. I want to go back to Doctor Simon and my dad. They need me."

The little girl backed quickly out of the shuttle before either of the women could say something to convince her to stay.

"Simon's got an idea why she don't like us very much," Kaylee said as she rubbed her hands over her belly.

Inara regarded her friend with a cocked head and a raised eyebrow. "Oh?"

* * *

"You will maintain comm silence until you reach your destination. At that time, more coordinates will be relayed to you."

Mal stared at the weathered face of the Independent general, his entire demeanor tense. This was important, and as much as he didn't want to follow any rules but his own, he nodded slowly, accepting this stranger's order as if it were one of his crew accepting his own – which they tended to do grudgingly anyway.

The general waited for confirmation and acceptance of his order and Mal gave it with gritted teeth. The battle this man fought to win was all but lost. Few factions were continuing to resist Alliance authority, but systematically they were being crushed beneath the military might of the United Federation of Allied Planets.

This man was the last link to a past Mal wanted to escape, but never wanted to forget. And so he wanted to give back something to these people he'd fought with so long ago. Delivering these plans into their hands would have to do.

"Understood," Mal said, his jaw set, his eyes unwavering.

"Thank you for your cooperation. You understand our caution."

"I do."

"We'll be in touch."

The screen went dark and Zoe stepped forward, her stance stiff. "They sound grateful."

Mal noticed her stern gaze. "Yeah, we'll see if any of 'em are still alive in two weeks."

Zoe bent and flipped on the Cortex, where news reports continuously broadcasted highlights from Alliance-won battles on different worlds.

Mal spared a cursory glance at the screen. "You know how it is. History is written by the winners."

"They ain't won yet, Sir."

* * *

Simon was in the infirmary when it happened. A whirlwind of activity preceded Inara's arrival with a wincing Kaylee wrapped in her tight embrace. Madeline had run ahead, calling for Simon as if she were Chicken Little afraid that the sky was falling.

"What happened?" Simon asked. He immediately wrapped his arms around Kaylee and guided her to the diagnostic chair.

"She started cramping," Inara breathed. "She wanted to wait, see if they went away, but I was worried."

Kaylee's eyes watered as she clutched Simon's arms. "It hurts, Simon."

"I know." Simon lifted her onto the table and smoothed back her sweat-soaked hair. "Just lay there. Shh. It will be okay." His voice was calm, soothing, but inside his heart beat hard against his ribcage. "Breathe through the pain. Just like we practiced." He motioned Inara to take Kaylee's hand while Madeline simply stayed motionless in the doorway.

Simon moved from Kaylee's side only to snatch a few vials and instruments from the counter. He quickly injected a drug that he hoped would stop the cramping and give Kaylee a chance to breathe normally. Her heart rate was high, but that, he deduced, was from the pain. After a moment, he was back at her side, the palm of his hand cradling her cheek. He leaned over and whispered gently, "Better?"

Kaylee's body visibly relaxed into the chair as the medication moved swiftly through her body. She turned worried eyes on him. "The baby? It's too soon, Simon. It's –"

"Shh, shh," he soothed with a long, slim finger to her lips. "The cramps are subsiding, right?"

Kaylee nodded hesitantly, her eyes still wide and fearful.

"I think it was just false labor." He wrapped the stethoscope around his neck and sighed deeply.

"What caused it?" Inara asked, her concerned gaze sweeping over Kaylee as the younger woman lay on the diagnostic chair.

"Stress." Simon said matter-of-factly and put the instrument in his ears so that he could listen for the baby.

Kaylee rolled her eyes and inhaled sharply as the cold metal touched her warm belly.. "Oh, no, ain't had none of that recently." The sarcasm dripped off her tongue like venom

"I want to do an exam. Make sure everything is okay." He moved methodically around the room, filling the tray beside the diagnostic chair with the instruments he would need. When he began to drop the privacy screens over the infirmary windows, Inara moved toward the door.

"We'll be right outside, mei mei." Inara looked at Simon, who stopped for a brief moment and nodded.

"I'll call you if I need anything."

Simon watched for a brief moment as Inara placed her hands on Madeline's shoulders and guided her out of the room, sliding the infirmary door shut behind her.

"We can't go if –"

"I can give you enough medication to stop the labor if it begins again once you've left," Simon interrupted. He knew instantly where Kaylee was going with this. She'd use any excuse not to leave the ship – and he had to admit, this was a pretty important one. "You won't be en-route to Newhall for long."

"But what if –"

"Inara will call ahead and have a medical team on standby," Simon interrupted and then leaned down to meet Kaylee's eyes. "Please don't fight me on this. Please, Kaylee. I just want to keep you safe."

Kaylee's features hardened and for a moment Simon thought she was going to yell at him - again. But she simply looked away and whispered, 'I know," and left it at that.

* * *

"What's goin' on?" Mal asked as he walked into the common room and found Jayne waiting outside the infirmary with Inara and Madeline. Zoe and Aaron followed at his heels, but stood politely back as Mal waited for answers.

"Kaylee went into labor," Madeline answered quickly, before Inara had a chance to temper the announcement.

"What?" Mal's eyes bugged widely out of his head as he turned to Inara for confirmation.

"Simon stopped the contractions. He wanted to examine her. That's what he's doing now."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"What could you have done, Mal?" Inara stared at him as if he were a child, took a deep breath and then waited. When he didn't answer quickly enough, she continued. "You'd have been in Simon's way."

"I'm the captain of this boat an' I like to be informed."

"Well, now you know," Inara said sharply, and she returned her attention to the closed infirmary hatch.

Mal scowled and turned to Jayne. "Anything else to add?"

Jayne simply shrugged. "Nope. Just got here myself. Waitin' to see how Kaylee's fairin'."

Aaron looked from Mal's sour expression to Jayne and Inara's stubborn stances, then his gaze settled on his daughter. He sighed and moved to her side. "Bao bei," he said softly, "why don't you go take a nap."

"I'm not tired, dad."

"Madeline." The man's tone left no room for argument and the girl stood, pouting prettily.

"All right. "She turned to Jayne. "Will you come get me when they're done?"

Jayne dismissed her with a, "Sure lil' pint," his eyes still focused on the infirmary door.

Aaron walked Madeline to the passenger dorms and lifted her, even though she could do it herself, onto the bed. "I'm glad you care so much about Kaylee and the baby," he said, and he brushed his hand through her long hair as she lay her head down on the pillow.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Aaron studied her for a long moment. "Is something wrong?" They had talked about why he'd left the Core, and how important it was to put some distance between them and her mother. He knew it wasn't easy for his little girl. It had been a big change, and a startling one, to find out her mother was suddenly an enemy.

"I miss mom." There was longing in the girl's voice, mixed with a bit of hopelessness, as she stared at the ceiling.

Aaron smiled sadly. "I understand, bao bei."

Suddenly, the girls voice hardened as she added, "But I hate her too."

Aaron's eyes snapped toward Madeline's face. "What?"

"I hate her."

Aaron had no words of comfort. He'd used them all in the past. And, truthfully, he hated his wife very deeply, an emotion he knew his daughter could pick up on regardless of how he tried to hide it. But before he could try and formulate a response, Madeline continued.

"She makes weapons to kill innocent people. People like everyone on this ship just trying to live their lives. And – she likes it." Madeline crawled into her father's lap as he settled onto the bed beside her. "I don't ever want to be like her."

"Is that why you don't like Inara and Kaylee?" He had seen her standoffish behavior toward the women instantly and had wondered, especially when he saw how much time she spent with Simon, if perhaps she was transferring her hate for her mother to the other women on the ship.

Madeline snuggled into her father's chest.

Aaron wrapped his arms protectively around her, not pushing for an answer. "Not all women are like her, Maddy. I promise."

"Why it have to be _my_ mom?" Madeline said sullenly as she squeezed her eyes shut and snuggled closer to her father. For a few moments she was silent, but then she shifted again, clearly unable to find a comfortable position.

As Aaron watched his little girl's brow furrow, her chest heave, and her body start to finally relax, he vowed to keep her demons away at whatever the cost.

* * *

"Command understands the importance of retrieving these plans," Maris snapped at the aide who stood beside her. "I want all available resources tracking that ship."

The man swallowed nervously, and resisted the urge to wipe his sweaty palms on his crisply-pressed pants. The longer it took to find that damnable ship, the worse her mood, and her treatment of her subordinates, became. "It's being done."

"Then why are they not standing in my brig?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

The man glanced around briefly as the rest of the bridge crew turned back to their work, eager to keep from further earning the angry woman's ire. His entire body tense, he answered slowly, "The ship has alluded us. They must have a good pilo–"

"I don't want excuses. I want results."

The man felt a chill roll down his spine as her eyes burned into his, clearly indicating to him that further failure would yield most unpleasant consequences.

"You'll get them." The man turned away and barked an order that immediately set the recipient on edge.

"I'd better."

TBC

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kaylee stood with her head on Simon's shoulder, face buried in his neck, arms wrapped around his torso. Her voice was muffled as she murmured, "Please hurry back."

Simon held her tightly, as he'd done at every available moment over the last week while they'd traveled toward their destination. It was time for Kaylee, Inara and Madeline to leave and, as he suspected, it was proving difficult to get Kaylee into the shuttle.

So, instead, he stood in the middle of the bunk they'd shared for the last few months and simply held her, willing himself not to wonder if he'd ever see her, or their baby, again. He'd monitored her closely and there had been no further labor pains, but he still prepared a medical kit, even though they would only be en route for a few hours.

"I'm sorry for bein' such a fei fei de pi yan. I just –"

Simon tilted his head and kissed her quickly; the rest of whatever she was going to say died on her lips. "Don't worry about it. We'll be okay."

She stared up at him with such wide, open and trusting eyes that he wanted to look away before they burned a hole through his heart.

"Promise me, Simon."

He swallowed hard and cupped the back of her head in the palm of his hand. Meeting her intense gaze, he held it for a long while, saying nothing, until he dropped his forehead to hers and exhaled gently.

Before they had a chance to say anything more, Mal's voice came over the comm, saying it was time for the women to leave.

With a carefully disguised sigh, Simon disengaged himself from Kaylee's embrace and took her hand, squeezing it gently as he led her out to the shuttle.

* * *

The crew assembled before the shuttle, waiting to say goodbye to part of their family. Mal and Inara stood opposite one another on the catwalk while the crew behind them waited for Simon and Kaylee to arrive. 

Over the past week, Mal had tried a few times to talk to her about the insults he'd slung at her that day in the shuttle, but at every turn she thwarted his attempts with thinly veiled curt responses, decidedly silencing him.

So he'd stopped trying. If they got through this, he'd force her to listen to his apology.

"We'll signal you when it's safe to return," Mal said stiffly as his gaze fell for a few moments on each member of his crew, lingering for an extra moment on Simon and Kaylee as they approached hand in hand.

"Should only take you a few hours to reach Newhall," Mal continued, his eyes shifting back to Inara.

Welcoming the chance to cover her discomfort with concern for Kaylee, Inara surged forward and offered to help the very pregnant mechanic get settled in the shuttle. But Kaylee waved her off, accepting Simon's assistance instead.

A tight smile followed the couple as they disappeared inside the shuttle, and Inara turned her eyes to Mal effectively ending their short conversation with a curt, "I've read the flight plan."

"Yeah, right, well," Mal took a step back, a hand flopping toward the shuttle in an obviously uncomfortable gesture. "Best be goin', then. Sooner we drop you off, sooner we can deliver these plans an' pick you back up."

Behind them, the remainder of the crew stood awkwardly listening to the stilted conversation. All except Aaron, who continued to try and reassure his daughter.

Through her tears, Madeline begged her father to let her stay, but he simply hugged his little girl, promised to return, and then glanced pleadingly up at Inara for help.

Grateful for something to do other than stand awkwardly in front of Mal, Inara pulled the girl into her arms and backed toward the entrance to the shuttle. As she swung the inner door shut, Mal stepped forward and closed the outside one, staring through the small window into the shuttle as he did so. He met Inara's eyes and unspoken words passed between them. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, knowing she would not hear him even if he voiced the words.

Mal stared at the closed door for a silent moment before turning to the rest of the assembled crew. Clearing his throat, he said, "All right then. Lets get moving."

* * *

The aide tapped his ear to cut the remote communication and turned to his commander. "Ma'am?" 

"Yes?" Maris turned away from another screen she'd been studying. "What is it?"

He allowed himself a small smile in light of the new information he was about to reveal. "I'm picking up a shuttle that bears a striking resemblance to one belonging to the Firefly _Serenity_."

"Really?" Doubt clouded her tone but the aide hurried to dispel that thought.

"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed proudly.

"A decoy?" Maris asked with a raised eyebrow.

The aide hesitated. He didn't think it was, but he feared that giving the woman an incorrect answer at this junction would end his career in a painful and bloody way, despite the rules against disciplining subordinates. "Possibly."

A small, satisfied smile spread across Maris' face, instantly setting the aide on edge. "Set course for intercept."

* * *

Aaron slipped into the bunk he'd been sharing with his daughter and quietly slid the shoji door shut, locking it against any prying eyes. They had some time before they would be meeting with the Independents to deliver the plans, and he needed some time alone, to think, to plan, to anticipate. 

Moving to the bed, he lifted the mattress and slipped the cylinder out from beneath it, caressing the cold metal with a thoughtful smile.

Thankfully, he'd thought to hide two versions, or the captain would be the only one with a copy of these plans. If he had to, he would use them to get himself and his daughter as far away from the Core as possible. And he'd sell them to the highest bidder in order to do so. His life back there was over. He could never go back.

With a heavy sigh, he replaced the cylinder and lay back on the bed, closing his eyes. He'd never thought of himself as someone who would use others, or even sacrifice their lives, to benefit himself or his family, but _reading_ about such circumstances, with which he was now faced, was far different than actually _living_ them.

He'd learned in his time out on the Rim that the people out here played by a different set of rules. There was no structure out here. It was kill or be killed. No one cared about anyone but themselves.

He snorted and opened his eyes. The ceiling was bare and a bit of rust tinged the metal edges, but as he reflected on his life, he understood that petty selfishness existed everywhere. Out on the Rim it simply came wrapped in a far uglier and less attractive package.

* * *

As the shuttle sailed toward its destination, Inara stared out into the blackness, lost in thought. The stars twinkled ahead, some looming bigger and brighter than others, but their beauty went unnoticed by the Companion. 

She'd been an ass to Mal. She knew that he just wanted to protect her, the same as, dare she hope, Simon wanted to protect Kaylee.

He'd tried to make amends over the last week, but she'd been too bent out of shape to listen to him. Loneliness settled heavily on her shoulders and she trembled, trying to shake away the foreboding feeling settling in her heart.

"How long until we get there?" Madeline asked, startling Inara from her reverie.

She smiled kindly at the girl, who had not spoken to her, or even Kaylee, since they'd left. "Just a few hours."

Madeline cocked her head and looked out the window, staring blankly. "Why couldn't they drop us off?"

Grateful for someone to talk to, as Kaylee had been resting, Inara swiveled the chair and clasped her hands in her lap before answering. "Because they have a strict timetable that they need to keep, and a few hour's delay would interrupt that."

"Oh."

A red light began flashing off to the side and Madeline pointed a tiny finger toward it. "What's that?"

Inara's eyes swept over the console but before she frame a response, another voice did it for her.

"A proximity alert," Kaylee answered as she rubbed her tired eyes. She was standing in the entryway to the cockpit, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Kaylee, sweetie, please go back and lay down." Inara struggled to keep her fear for the younger woman's condition concealed. The sooner they got to Newhall, with access to proper medical facilities, the happier she would be. "I don't want you –"

But Kaylee would have none of the concern. She stayed where she was and looked from the flashing light to the window and back again. "Who is it?"

Inara returned her attention to the control panel. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's coming up fast."

"Send a signal back to _Serenity_," Madeline said, eyes wide, knuckles whitening as the grasped the nearest solid object. "They'll come get us, won't they?"

"Don't want whoever's comin' to be able to trace 'em," Kaylee said, leaning over the child to input a few commands into the control panel. A sharp hiss from the younger woman confirmed Inara's worst fears.

"It's Alliance."

* * *

"Sir?" 

"Yeah?" Mal glanced up at Zoe from where he sat at the large table, meticulously cleaning his weapons.

"Message coming in. It's coded."

"We know what it says?"

"Nope."

"River can't decode it?" The surprise on Mal's face caused a rare smile to spread across Zoe's.

"Girl's a mind reading genius, sir. What do you think?"

Mal took a moment to think and then shrugged. "Yes?"

"Given enough time, perhaps. If it's urgent, best to get our communication's expert on it."

Mal pursed his lips and nodded. "True. He's here. Got us into this mess. Might as well be useful."

"Yes, sir."

Mal's eyes narrowed as he sensed something in her tense stance. "Something wrong?"

"Just a feeling."

Mal sighed and carefully placed every piece of disassembled gun he had in his hand on the table before fixing his second with a solid stare. "Care to share it with your captain?"

"Something ain't right. Can't put my finger on it. Just a feeling."

Mal could feel every muscle in his body start to tense. "About delivering those plans?"

Zoe thought for a moment and then sighed. "Don't know. It's something. Little nagging."

Mal scowled and began snapping the pieces of gun together with loud, precise clicks. "Your little somethings frequently turn into big somethings."

Zoe had no response for that.

Mal arched his neck toward the bridge. "Aaron working on it, then?"

Zoe shook her head. "On my way to get him now."

Mal pushed himself up from the table, holstered his favorite gun and said, "Well, let's go."

* * *

Aaron glanced up from the console he'd been leaning over for the better part of an hour. "Plans have changed and the contact is sending new coordinates. The message is scrambled pretty heavily." He tapped a few more commands into the keyboard. 

Simon stood at the entrance to the bridge, frowning. His arms crossed over his chest, it was clear he was annoyed with their lack of progress on getting these plans delivered.

"It will take some time, but yes, I can."

"Guess it pays to have a communications expert on board," Mal said, leaning against the back of the pilot's chair.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Aaron's mouth. "It certainly doesn't hurt."

Simon glanced down at River who had, until now, been staring silently into the black. He'd paid very little attention to her since this entire ordeal began and now, as he studied her tense form, his eyes narrowed and he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"River?"

"Cold."

Everyone's head snapped toward her as she spoke, with the exception of Aaron, who continued to study the incoming message.

"River?" Zoe asked, her eyes narrowing.

"What is it, lil' Albatross?" Mal asked.

Jayne rolled his eyes. "Girl ain't got a bit of fat on her scrawny bones, of course she's cold."

River's head swiveled to look at the captain, ignoring Jayne, ignoring all of them. Her eyes were unblinking, her expression blank. "Cold."

Simon felt her forehead and then her bare arms. "You feel warm to me." But as he opened his mouth to say more, River trembled and Simon turned the chair around and knelt in front of her. "Mei mei, are you feeling all right?"

Jayne turned around to tug a blanket from one of the storage lockers, but stopped when River spoke again.

"It's cold."

The detachment in River's voice made Jayne swallow nervously.

"We're in the middle of space, darlin', 'course its cold." Mal said with a fake smile as icy tendrils of fear began to snake up his spine.

River's eyes shifted toward Mal. "In space, no one can hear you scream." She looked out the window, her bottom lip trembling. "But they scream anyway."

"Who?" Simon asked, before Mal or Zoe could.

"The dead."

"I didn't think she could damage my calm anymore than she's already done before, but that's just downright unsettlin'," Jayne said, clutching the blanket he'd pulled out for River tightly to his chest.

Aaron lifted his head and watched the scene with narrowed eyes. He'd not had much interaction with River, and she did seem to be a little odd, but what he'd just overheard was icing on an already very deformed cake.

Almost as if sensing his gaze on her, River glanced at him, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Before anyone could ask her to elaborate, the console in front of River lit up with another incoming message. She leaned forward and flipped on the Cortex with a surprisingly steady hand.

It was a short, pre-recorded broadwave, not aimed specifically at _Serenity_, as they didn't have the correct wave code, but the message was directed toward them nonetheless. It was a simple message, accompanied by a single image of Maris Kim kneeling beside her daughter. Kaylee and Inara held at gunpoint behind them.

Every member of the crew tensed as the simple, but effective, message began to play.

"Firefly Transport _Serenity_. We expect you to comply with our request to return the Alliance property which you have stolen." Maris turned and glanced at Inara and Kaylee before returning her steady gaze to the camera. "Immediately."

TBC

Chinese Translation:

**Fei fei de pi yan** - babboon's butt crack

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"O zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jin zhan," Mal hissed once the transmission ended. He turned away from the console to pace a small path behind the pilot's chair, his hands clenched in tight fists.

Curses erupted from Jayne and Zoe as well, but River and Simon simply stared at the single image, paralyzed by the distress on Kaylee's face and the fear in little Madeline's eyes.

"She'll be okay," River whispered, more to herself than to offer any consolation to her brother. But Simon heard the words and glanced down at his sister, hope clearly reflected in his blue eyes.

"River?" he asked.

Aaron tapped out a quick rhythm on the keypad in front of him, eyes quickly scanning the readouts. He knew his nervousness could be heard in his tone, and in the stilted words he used to express himself, but he didn't care. "I can track it. Them. The signal."

"If they picked up the shuttle, we know where they are," Zoe offered, her voice cool and confident.

Aaron glanced up, eyes narrowed. "They know we'll come for them." He looked to Mal for confirmation. "We will go for them, right?"

Mal let out a heavy sigh. Everyone's eyes focused on him, expectant. "We have to stick to the plan."

Simon pushed himself into the captain's space, eyes wide. "What!?"

Zoe carefully inserted herself between Mal and Simon, clearly hoping to head off a shouting, or worse, punching, match between the two men.

"You heard me," Mal snapped at the younger man. "Continue on course," he told River before he marched off the bridge, leaving everyone staring after him, silent in their horror.

* * *

"What do you want with us?" Inara asked. They sat around a small table in a cold, colorless interrogation room. "We have done nothing wrong." Her indignant tone brought a smile to Maris Kim's lips. 

"You are registered crew on the transport _Serenity_. We are holding you for questioning."

"There ain't been much questioning," Kaylee said stubbornly. Her hands were clasped protectively around her belly as if trying to shield the innocent life within.

Maris turned cold eyes on Kaylee. "I can arrange for more vigorous treatment if you would prefer."

Inara reached forward and grasped one of Kaylee's hands. She squeezed it in hopes it would temper the girl's tongue. "That won't be necessary. Kaylee is simply worried for her baby."

Maris looked down her nose at the younger woman. "Yes, I can imagine."

Kaylee ignored the disgusted look and asked, "Where's Maddy? Is she okay?"

Maris' eyes flashed at the use of her daughter's nickname. "_Madeline_ is perfectly fine."

"She weren't fine when you was pullin' us in," Kaylee barreled on, heedless of Inara's pleading look. "She was callin' for her daddy. All worried that you'd punish her. She was real scared."

Maris stood and smiled satisfactorily when the two women tensed and leaned away, clearly expecting to be slapped. Instead, the older woman – her voice hard, her eyes narrow – simply said, "Madeline is my daughter. Her father kidnapped her –" Maris shook her head in an effort to stay focused and glanced back at the two way mirror for a moment before returning her attention to Inara.

"What was _Serenity_'s course heading when you disembarked?"

Inara sat straighter and stared straight ahead – at nothing. "I have no idea. I'm a civilian. I'm not permitted on the bridge."

Maris turned to Kaylee. "Do you have anything to add?"

Kaylee shrugged, playing Inara's game. "I'm only allowed on the bridge when somethin' breaks."

Maris set her jaw and motioned to the mirror. "Fine then. You wish to be difficult, we'll be difficult."

The door opened to reveal a rather portly but well-kept man with a happy smile. Behind him came an aide rolling a small cart filled with medical tools and vials of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Inara inhaled sharply and Kaylee placed both hands on her belly, eyes wide with fear.

"So –" The smiling man looked at the two woman and then to Maris. " – with whom will we start?"

* * *

Everyone had gathered in the galley, a more spacious place to air their grievances and disapprovals with Mal's plan, than the bridge. Zoe sat beside Mal; a buffer in case an increasingly irritated doctor decided to throw a punch in the captain's direction. River sat beside her brother, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her eyes distant, her body trembling. Simon stood, hands balled into fists, arguing with Mal, clearly the most angry of the crew. Jayne paced the length of the room, huffing angrily, while Aaron simply sat and observed the growing agitation silently. 

"Are you feng le?" Jayne stopped and stared at Mal, annoyance written across his face. "We gotta go after 'em!"

"We need to keep clear heads," Mal raised his hands in an effort to quell the rising voices and tempers.

Simon stared gratefully at Jayne. It was a rare day they shared an opinion about anything. "And I'm not willing to leave Kaylee and my baby in Alliance custody. Just give them those plans and –"

"That'd be signing our death warrant and you know it," Zoe said sternly, eyes boring into Simon's until the younger man had to look away.

Simon shook his head, but Zoe continued before he could voice another objection.

"Don't let your heart overrule your common sense, Doc. Once they get what they want, they ain't gonna just let us fly away."

"Ain't nothin' that easy," Jayne muttered with a sigh.

Simon tried again; he couldn't just give up. "The Alliance –"

"They won't let us go once they have us," Aaron offered with a sympathetic look toward Simon.

"We can't go get our people. Not right now. All we can do is deliver those plans." Mal rubbed his face.

"Maybe they'll be so grateful to us, they'll offer help gettin' our girls back?" Jayne asked, ignoring the annoyed look that flashed in Simon's eyes.

Aaron watched quietly while the crew argued back and forth about what to do, keeping silent until he could figure out what to do himself.

"There're other things to consider here, Doc," Zoe said, her face a mask of grim acceptance. "These plans make it into Alliance hands and they'll have the ability to crush anyone who so much as breathes the word _Independence_."

"But –"

"Can't go for them. Not yet," River said. Her sad eyes fell on her brother. "Have to get the plans into Independent hands. Then we can go back for them."

Simon's eyes widened; he knew she was right. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few – as much as he loathed it. But his fear for Kaylee and the baby's safety was foremost in his mind, and he found it difficult to be objective.

"There's this little matter of us carryin' wanted fugies," Jayne grumbled, stopping to stared down at where Simon and River sat. "We walk in to deliver these plans, you know they'll search the ship. Ain't no where they can hide."

"Then what are we going to –"

"Everyone just pipe down and give me time to think," Mal said, his voice booming over everyone. They fell silent instantly, but they didn't need to speak for Mal to see the anger writ all over their faces.

"I have another copy," Aaron said quietly, his voice piercing the sudden silence.

"What?" Mal asked, his expression one of shock mixed with a bit of annoyance that the man had not spoken up until now.

Jayne stopped his pacing. Simon snapped his mouth shut. River smiled and Zoe's head slowly swiveled to take in Aaron Kim's patient expression.

"You what?"

"I made two copies of the data when I left the Core." He reached into a hidden pocket and retrieved the cylinder. "I have another copy."

"Tian xiao de! Why didn't you tell us?" Mal reached out and snapped it out of Aaron's hands, his jaw set, eyes hard.

"I was hoping I'd never need to use it."

"You knew your wife would come after you," Simon said, everything finally clicking in his brain.

"And you knew she'd go after your daughter," Zoe added, understanding. "Both to get her back and use her as a bargaining chip to get the plans

"Maris knows I'd die before I let her have these plans back. But she also knows that I would never leave Madeline in her custody."

"Oh, I don't like this," Jayne shook his head and wrapped his fingers around his favorite knife.

"There ain't much you do like, Jayne," Zoe said without taking her gaze from Aaron's face.

"Fine, we have this second set of plans. We exchange it for our people."

"After we deliver the first set to the Independents," River said, her small voice cutting through the deep, irritated ones of the rest of the crew.

"Level the playing field," Zoe nodded her approval.

"And leave Kaylee, Inara and Maddy in their hands? We need to get them first!" Simon cried, irritated that anyone would even think to keep the rendezvous with the Independent contact at a time like this.

"Alliance has better facilities for manufacturing the weapon detailed in these plans. They'd crush anyone so much as trying to put them to use."

"Atthis point we're closer to them than we are to the Alliance." Mal said, directing his sternest voice at Simon.

"I can devise a virus to transmit when we answer the broadwave." Everyone glanced at Aaron, who allowed a small smile to spread across his face. "It will sit dormant until the plans are inserted into any terminal."

"You're taking a big chance that your wife will want to look at the plans on board, instead of a private screen."

"That's why when we answer the broadwave, we direct it to her personal ident." Aaron said, his smug smile growing.

"There's still a chance whatever terminal she opens will not have received this virus," Simon offered, his tone cool and thoughtful as he worked out the odds of this plan actually succeeding.

"One we're going to have to take."

"We do what we can. The rest is up to fate," Mal nodded at Aaron, giving his permission as he glanced around the table at the rest of his crew.

"I still don't like this."

Mal scowled at Jayne. "The day you approve of anythin' I do, is the day I retire from our bountiful life of crime."

* * *

"We can't meet you any sooner, Captain," the Independent commander sighed. "The plans you carry are instrumental to us launching a successful attack against Alliance forces. We have to be cautious in their retrieval." 

"Yeah, well I got people were taken because a these plans. I need them off my ship fast-like so I can get my people back."

Sympathy crossed the commander's face. "I'm sorry for your loss. We appreciate all you're doing for –"

"They ain't dead. Leastways not yet. I'm gettin' 'em back. Now you just get to me so I can turn my boat around and get back to 'em."

"We'll meet you as soon as possible."

When the connection ended, Mal ran his hand through his hair and took a deep, irritated breath.

"You're doing the right thing," Zoe said, resting a strong hand on his shoulder.

He sighed deeply and stared out into the black. "Nothin' feels right about this, Zoe."

She lowered her hand and took a step back. "Beating yourself up over your decision to put them off in the first place isn't going to get them back."

Mal's eyes narrowed and his head swiveled to take in his first mate's stoic and un-intimidated stance.

"No need to tell me somethin' I already know."

Zoe stood her ground. "Just pointin' out the obvious, Sir."

He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice and he snapped, a bit too harshly, "We got Jayne for that."

A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth and she reached up and squeezed his arm. She didn't need to say anything else. He knew what she was thinking.

He would pray for the first time in years if it would ensure his girls made it back to him in one piece.

* * *

"It will be okay." 

Simon didn't bother to look up from the journal he'd been studying. River knew he didn't want to be comforted. He wanted to be left to wallow in the intense feeling of helplessness that had filled his body the moment they'd found out the shuttle had fallen into Alliance hands.

"You don't know that, mei mei," Simon finally said with a heavy sigh.

River tried to look hurt that he didn't trust her intuition, but the frown fell off her face when she stepped beside him and glanced down at his hands.

He was reading notes he'd written on Kaylee and the baby's progress. A pang of regret and fear snaked it way through her heart and she blinked away the tears those thoughts pricked at the corners of her eyes.

"She was so furious with me for making her go." He still didn't look up. "I thought it would be safer. I really believed –"

"You can't be right all the time." She slid her hand between the clenched fist that lay on the counter.

"And if I was so wrong about this that it costs Kaylee her life? Or our baby's?" He lifted such sad eyes to his sister's face that she recoiled suddenly from the look. "I can't live with that, mei mei."

River shook her head, tears coming unbidden to her eyes at the pain written in her brother's. "You won't have to." She embraced him tightly. "You won't. We'll get them all back."

"Can you promise me that?" His voice was muffled but she could detect the slightest bit of hope buried in the question.

River clutched him tighter as a single tear made its way down her smooth cheek. "Yes."

* * *

"Oh 'Nara," Kaylee hurried to her friend's side when she was returned to their shared cell. Her eyes swept down the Companion's body and narrowed in concern when she noticed the older woman's sensitivity to being touched. "What'd they do to you?" 

"Better me than you, mei mei," Inara whispered as an answer.

Kaylee wrapped her arms around her friend and led her to the room's one small cot. As Kaylee searched in the low light for injuries, Inara weakly brushed her hands away.

"They didn't believe that I had no information." She closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath.

Kaylee's mouth fell open and her eyes widened in disbelief. "So they tortured you?"

Kaylee could see Inara struggle to keep her face impassive. "Just asked me some questions."

Kaylee raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Then why are ya shakin' so bad?"

"They used drugs… to get me to talk."

Kaylee trembled despite herself, rested one hand atop her belly and slowly, carefully, lay down on the bed. As she curled her body around Inara's, she whispered. "Do you think they'll come for us?"

"I hope they don't," Inara answered and Kaylee understood completely.

If they came, they'd be caught and tortured worse than Inara. And that was a guilt Kaylee would not be able to live with.

Her bottom lip trembled as she agreed. "Yeah, me too."

TBC

Chinese Translation:

**Feng le** – crazy

**O zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jin zhan** - oh this is a happy development

**Tian xiao de** - in the name of all that's sacred

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Mal glanced around the large bay, his eyes scanning the area as he waited to deliver the plans. The place was big enough to hold a dozen Fireflys, and Mal felt a very unwelcome tug at his insides upon returning to a ship like this – even for a few moments.

He watched, Zoe on one side, Jayne on the other, as the commander with whom he'd exchanged communications over the last week approached, armed guards at his side.

"Thank you for this." The commander extended his hand and Mal dropped the cylinder into it. "Your sacrifice will be worthwhile. I promise you."

"It better be," Mal said. Enough time had been wasted in getting the plans to the right people. He needed to get his crew back and he couldn't do it standing in this cargo bay.

Jayne, ever concerned with being paid, asked suddenly, "We get any coin for riskin' so much?"

Zoe growled low at Jayne and Mal was moments away from a biting retort when the commander smiled. "Some form of payment can be arranged."

"Really?" Mal and Jayne asked at once.

"We owe you a great debt. I will make sure you are fully compensated." He waved back toward a guard, who immediately disappeared through a nearby hatch.

"Unmarked platinum," the commander said to Jayne when his guard returned with a large case. "It should total ten thousand, give or take." He extended his hand to Mal, "Thank you."

Jayne raised an eyebrow and the commander chuckled. "We may be losing the war, but that doesn't mean we aren't well funded."

"Yeah," Mal said, already distracted with thoughts about how he was going to get his people back.

They moved toward _Serenity_'s ramp without so much as a look back. Once reaching the top, Mal punched the controls to raise the bay doors and turned to Aaron. "Send that message."

"Right away." The man moved back toward the bridge, Zoe at his heels.

"Stow this," Mal said to Jayne, pushing the case toward the greedy mercenary.

Simon and River, who had hidden so no one would know they were aboard, emerged from the passenger dorms.

"We're going to get them, right?" Simon asked, his jaw set. He was perfectly willing to throw a punch if Mal so much delayed answering in the affirmative.

"Damn straight we are."

* * *

Maris leaned back in her chair and spared a smug smile at her husband's clearly nervous and irritated delivery of the message. After replaying the wave several times, she finally composed a short, curt reply intended to elicit a thoroughly enjoyable angry response.

Though it had taken days for him to contact her, she was fairly certain he'd answer as soon as he got the message. As usual, she had been proven right.

Flipping a switch, her husband's image blinked off and the bridge came into view. "I want to be informed as soon as the Firefly appears on the sensors."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have the women fed and bathed." Maris ordered and stood, transmitting her console connection from her office to the bridge. "We wouldn't want Aaron or the crew of that dusty old freighter to think that we mistreat prisoners of war."

* * *

"Message delivered." Aaron swiveled in the co-pilot's chair and regarded Mal with a hopeful look.

"Let's hope this works," Jayne said with a sigh, clearly an disbeliever.

"It will work," River insisted, staring out the cockpit window and into the black

Zoe's eyes followed River's into the black nothingness of space and confirmed, "It will work."

Mal nodded curtly, his jaw set, and turned to River. "ETA on rendezvous?"

"Two days, eighteen hours, Captain."

Mal groaned, hoping that it would be far closer.

"You know you're gonna have to do some fancy flyin' soon as we get 'em back, right?"

"The probability of our survival is two-hundred –"

Mal waved her silent and turned to walk off the bridge. "I don't want to know."

"I wanna know," Jayne directed at River.

"No you don't," Zoe, Mal and River chorused at once.

* * *

"They're comin' for us, 'Nara." Kaylee hurried into the cell as Inara sat drying her hair.

Inara spared a weak smile for her excited friend. "I heard."

Kaylee sank down into the uncomfortable mattress and touched Inara's arm, eyes sad as she watched her friend's slow movements.

"I'll heal, mei mei."

Normally bright, cheerful eyes narrowed in disgusted anger. "Ain't right what they did to you."

"They could have done a lot worse." Inara turned and forced a bigger smile. "It was a small price to pay. And they didn't touch you."

Kaylee's hands flew to her belly as the baby kicked. "I think he wants out."

The smile that graced Inara's face this time was wide and genuine. "He?"

Kaylee smiled sheepishly, glancing down at her hands as they cradled her belly. "Yeah, I think it's a boy. Simon thinks it's a girl, with all the dancin' around in my belly she been doin'. He don't care, though. He just wants a healthy baby."

Inara tensed and stared at Kaylee for a long moment. The girl returned a blank look until she caught the hint. Her mouth snapped shut and Kaylee winced at her mistake. They'd carefully avoided any discussion of Simon and River, and Kaylee trembled at the thought of what the Alliance would do if they discovered that their most wanted fugitives were on _Serenity_.

* * *

"I don't like this," Jayne said for probably the tenth time in as many minutes. He clutched Vera to his chest, his face scrunched into a seemingly permanent frown. The mercenary glanced back at Mal, Aaron and Zoe.

"Ain't nothin' about this to like," Zoe said, her own eyes fixed on the closed door.

"This' the best way we can make sure they don't renege on the deal." Mal fingered the snap holding his pistol in place, resisting the urge to slide it out of its holster and clench his hand tightly around the grip.

"This really is the best way." Aaron clutched the plans as they all heard the familiar sound of a ship locking onto _Serenity_'s hull. "They don't intend to honor their bargain, they die right along with us, and their precious plans implode right along with our bodies when the seal breaks."

"Lovely image." Mal rolled his eyes and groaned. "Thank you."

Aaron shrugged and all four tensed as River's voice came over the comm., informing them that the connection between the two ships was stable and they could open the bay door.

Mal nodded to Zoe and Jayne, who took up positions to the side of the small door, out of sight of the cylindrical connection between the two ships. He unlatched the door, pulled it open, and stood aside so Aaron could step through.

Maris stood at the other end of the temporary walkway, clutching Madeline in front of her. Though the light was dim, the skin of her pale, bony hand looked glaringly bright against the girl's shoulder. Inara and Kaylee stood beside Maris with two guards behind them, weapons pointed at their backs. At Maris' signal, the guards prodded the two women forward with the butt of their pulse rifles.

They moved forward at a walk, watching Aaron as each of their steps brought them closer to the relative safety of their home. Aaron, for his part, moved slowly toward them and stopped in the very center, not looking back toward _Serenity_ when the two women finally reached their destination and disappeared inside.

Maris moved forward with her daughter, a triumphant smile on her face.

"You don't know what –"

"Save it, Aaron," Maris snapped, her tone leaving no room for delay, and held out her hand. "The plans. Now."

Madeline looked fearfully up at her mother and Aaron could see the dried tears that had left paths down her cheeks.

With only a moment's further hesitation, he settled the plans into the palm of his wife's hand and pulled his daughter against him with the other. Without so much as a glance back, Aaron turned and led Madeline out of the tunnel and back into _Serenity_, only pulling her into his arms and holding her tight when Jayne had shut and bolted the door behind him.

Zoe moved to the comm. and instructed River to break the seal connecting the two ships if they didn't do it themselves in the next ten seconds.

Inside, Simon's hands wrapped gently around Kaylee's cheeks as he pressed short, relieved kisses to her face. Kaylee embraced him as she could, with her very pregnant belly the only obstacle to burying herself completely against him.

Mal and Inara embraced wordlessly, both ignoring the tension and giving into a moment where they could simply be relieved to be alive and together again.

* * *

"You're not really going to let them go, are you?"

"Of course not," Maris strode toward her office, her aide following. "Track them and follow just out of scanner range. I want my daughter back but we're going to wait until they make contact with an Independent ship first."

The aide nodded and turned to carry out her order as the office door slid shut.

As Maris slid the data disk into the terminal; she smiled triumphantly at the console as it displayed the beginning of her report. But, after a moment, the picture flickered and an odd string of characters began to swim across the screen.

Her eyes widened and she watched helplessly as the data from the stick was instantly corrupted. She tried several ways to save it but nothing worked and she slammed her fist onto the desk as she flipped on the comm to the bridge.

"Yes?" came the unusually cheerful voice of her aid.

"Find that ship and blow it out of the sky," she seethed as the terminal winked off and she sat, heaving with fury, in her high-backed chair.

* * *

When the ship lurched suddenly to one side, everyone drew apart. With only momentary looks of fear exchanged between them, Mal threw himself toward the comm. and demanded, "River? What in the seven hells is goin' on up there?"

"Ain't one hell enough?" Jayne lamented mostly to himself as he looked for the closest bolted object with which to hold. "Why's there gotta be seven?"

Everyone ignored him.

River's voice floated down around their ears, calm even in the face of their imminent destruction. "They didn't like the idea of letting us go, Captain."

"That was quick." Aaron clutched his daughter, and the nearest railing, to keep from being thrown off his feet. "I didn't suspect she'd look at them so soon."

"Ni ta ma de tian xia suo you de ren dou gai si!" Mal whirled on his crew. "Everyone go strap yourselves in. Zoe with me."

"Oh God," Kaylee whimpered as the baby kicked. Simon glanced down at her stomach, his eyes wide.

"Kaylee?"

"I think the baby's not likin' the bumpy ride," Kaylee lamented as the color drained out of her face. She clutched Simon to keep from being thrown to the deck, but he was having difficulty keeping his own balance and wasn't a lot of help.

A deep frown creasing his handsome features, Simon exhaled deeply and wrapped his arms around her as they hurried out of the cargo bay to follow Mal's orders.

Aaron, Madeline and Inara followed Kaylee and Simon, hoping to get settled before things, including them, began flying around the ship.

Jayne took up the rear, as he so often did, to make sure they were all strapped in safely. He'd just made it to the entrance to the common room when the ship shook violently, throwing him against the bulkhead. He grunted in pain and pushed himself to his feet with a string of curses that even the most pure of heart would have voiced in this situation.

Zoe and Mal clutched various portions of the metal catwalk, making their way quickly to the bridge as the ship continued to shake.

Mal knew the signs. He'd seen them far too often as of late, and even during the first Alliance/Independent war. The Alliance wasn't going to give up until they'd blown _Serenity_ out of the sky.

TBC

Chinese Translations:

**Ni ta ma de tian xia suo you de ren dou gai si** - fuck everyone in the 'verse to death

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know. 


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"River?" Mal made it to the bridge in record time, Zoe on his heels. "Tell me somethin' good."

River didn't answer as Zoe took position behind her, pulled down the seat and strapped herself in.

Tossing a scowl at the back of River's head, Mal amended, "Ok, tell me anyway, even if it ain't somethin' good."

"We can't outrun them, Captain," River said, her eyes focused on the controls beneath her fingertips.

Mal swore beneath his breath. "And?"

"The likelihood of us dying in the attempt is probable."

Mal sighed in annoyance, eyes darting from the controls out the window and back again. "You have anything to say I want to hear?"

River banked suddenly, throwing the as-not-yet-strapped-in captain hard against the bulkhead.

Amidst his string of curses, River said, "Set the Miranda recording to play in a continuous loop." She turned the controls hard, trying to evade yet another volley of weaponry aimed in _Serenity's_ direction. She succeeded – mostly.

"Right," Mal glanced at the console in front of him, at a momentary loss as to how to do just that.

"And set our messages to play right after it."

Mal glanced up, meeting his pilot's eyes. "Our –"

"The ones we recorded when you didn't think we'd escape the Reavers."

"Before we landed on Mr. Universe's moon," Zoe added, her tone solemn.

* * *

"We ain't gonna make it, are we?" Kaylee clutched her stomach as the baby continued to kick. She breathed through the pain with short puffs of air, hoping to calm her anxiety as well as the contractions that had only gotten worse as the Alliance ship closed in.

Simon knelt beside her, administering medications that he claimed would stop her contractions. Kaylee knew she couldn't deliver a baby in the middle of this battle and she could see the fear in Simon's eyes as he tried to care for her and keep himself from being tossed against the walls at the same time.

"River will get us through this," Simon said, his jaw set and his eyes steely as a loud screeching sound of metal against metal echoed in their ears.

Kaylee glanced up at the ceiling and the walls. "What're they doin' to my baby?"

Simon reached for Kaylee's hands and she gave them to him, pulling them down to rest intertwined on her belly as the ship continued to shake.

* * *

"Dad?" Madeline turned big brown eyes on her father as he strapped her tightly into the chair. Tears leaked down her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled as she watched his hands shake.

Aaron reached toward his girl and held her hands, his eyes full of hope and confidence. "We'll be okay, bao bei."

She glanced toward Simon and Kaylee. "Everyone's so scared."

"I need to go back to the bridge and help," Aaron squeezed his daughter's hands and kissed Madeline on the cheek before turning his gaze to Inara, imploring her without words: _Take Madeline with you._

"Where you goin'?" Jayne demanded as he strapped himself in; he was ignored.

Inara's eyes narrowed in confusion but before she could ask what Aaron meant, he was gone. So, instead, her eyes flicked to the frightened faces of everyone around her. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing. There had to be something she could do. After a few moments of contemplating what Aaron had said, she knew. As much as it pained her, she'd have to act to make it possible for anyone to survive this. After a moment, the ship stopped shaking and she quickly un-strapped herself, drawing everyone's attention.

"'Nara?" Kaylee's concerned gaze struck her numb for a moment before she moved to the entrance.

"Inara, sit back down."

She'd have laughed at Simon's attempt at an authoritative tone if the circumstances weren't so dire.

"I need everyone to follow me, now!" Inara demanded. "Jayne, carry Madeline, please!" She didn't wait for them to answer before making her way along the hallway to her shuttle.

* * *

River set her jaw and bit her lip, knowing she had to do this and wishing she didn't have to. She hesitated a split second before flipping on the comm. "Kaylee, I need you in the engine room. Simon, go with her."

"What?" Mal stared incredulously at his pilot. "That girl's –"

"She doesn't give me more power we're all going to die." River said matter-of-factly, not bothering to spare him one of her patented '_you're a boob'_ looks. "And send out that recording. We don't have much time."

Mal glanced at the console and punched in a few keys, accessing the ship's data storage just as the ship rolled to one side, sending him hurtling back toward the bulkhead.

"Sir!" Zoe reached down to unsnap her restraints but stopped when Mal pushed himself to his feet with a grunt. She noted the trickle of blood on his temple but said nothing as he threw himself into the co-pilot's chair.

"I need more power, Kaylee," River said into the comm. "Cut every system but life support. Re-route it all to the bridge."

"Will that work?" Zoe asked, her eyes wide. "Will it give us a chance?"

River held the controls in white knuckled hands as the ship shook from the amount of power Kaylee siphoned from the engine. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood before saying one simple word that would give them hope. "Yes." She knew that what they did right now would save some lives, even if it wasn't their own.

She could feel Zoe relax for a split second, and could feel Mal's eyes on her as she banked hard yet again, knowing she'd just forced Kaylee off her feet and into Simon's chest. River lifted her eyes to Mal's the moment the rumbling reverberated through the ship. She reached forward, flipped a switch and said simply, "launch now," before turning her attention back to the window in front of her.

As the voices began in the background, River watched out the cockpit window at a rapidly approaching sphere of light. She knew there was no way she would ever turn _Serenity_ in time to miss the blast completely. She simply stared stubbornly ahead, regretting every action that had brought them to this time and place. It had all been because of her; because her brother had brought her out into the Black to keep her safe. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer, asking forgiveness for the lives she had ended because of her very existence – while her hands continued to hold the battered Firefly on its course.

The recording they had all made during the last time _Serenity_ was being chased like this continued in the background while the voices on the bridge dulled and fell silent.

* * *

_Simon stood with his arm around River, his eyes focused, his face calm, peaceful as he stared into the recording device._

"_My name is Doctor Simon Tam .I worked as a trauma surgeon on Osiris." He glanced down at his sister with sad eyes and then returned his gaze to the capture Inara held with unbelievably steady hands._

"_This is my sister, River. At fourteen she went to an Alliance sponsored Academy for gifted children. Three years later, when I managed to get her out, she'd been changed. Her brain cut open, her amygdala stripped – all in the name of experimental science. They wanted to make my sister a weapon. They succeeded."_

* * *

_She glanced toward someone off screen a few times before swallowing thickly and turning to the capture. "My name's Kaywinnet Lee Frye. I'm ship's mechanic. When Simon an' River came onboard, they was real scared, bein' chased by the Feds. But they're good people. Simon got a scan of River's brain and could see what the Alliance did to her. But he ain't been able to help her, not really. An' now they want to stop us, kill us so that we can't tell the 'verse 'bout what they did. . ."_

* * *

" – _the moonbrain was crazy, no doubt. Slashed me across the chest just 'cause I was wearin' a Blue Sun t-shirt. More we learned about 'em, the more we believed the doc's crazy story. His sister had been messed up. That Academy did somethin' to her. An' after seein' her kill a room full of Reavers with nothin' but her bare hands, a seventeen year old kid, yeah, no way no one can convince me they didn't do somethin'."_

* * *

_Zoe set her jaw and began to speak, her voice firm, unwavering. "I've seen what the Alliance is capable of. Fought at Serenity Valley. Seen all manner of death and destruction. But what they did to that girl was torture and manipulation beyond anything I've ever seen. Men walk into battle with their eyes open, knowing what can, and probably will, happen. River Tam went to that Academy with blinders, hoping to learn something her brilliant mind didn't already know. She came out knowin' more than any little girl should ever be taught – government secrets. The Miranda cover-up."_

* * *

"_I'm Serenity's pilot, Hoban Washburn. We're making these recordings so I'm thinking this little tin can we call a home here will be our final resting place." He swallowed thickly and glanced lovingly around him. "But- it's time to let the 'verse know what happened. We saw what happened to River, how her brain was used as a pretty little playground without her knowledge or consent. She was a little kid. Her brother got her out of some big, fancy Alliance place. And they want her back. Enough to kill anyone in their way."_

* * *

_Inara stared into the capture, resignation and understanding written all over her face. "Knowing what I know now, I would do nothing different. None of us would abandon River and Simon to the auspices of the Alliance. Until I met them, I supported our government, and then I experienced first hand, day in and day out, what had been done to River, how she had been manipulated, how her mind is a split fragment of the reality in which she now lives. . ."_

* * *

" – _and we'll die broadcastin' this signal into the 'verse. We didn't go down fightin' the Alliance. We steered clear of 'em, tried to just live, takin' jobs as they came, wanting to be left alone. We went down runnin' from them. Tryin' to keep River safe. Tryin' to do somethin' good. This message will be our epitaph. Believe everythin' the Miranda broadwave says, we saw it with our own eyes.. Believe it all. An' we won't have died in vain." Mal nodded and the capture snapped off._

* * *

The signal bounced from abandoned Independent communication stations all across the Rim and continued unhindered toward the Core long after Serenity had fallen out of the sky.

Regardless of how the Alliance tried, they could not stop the signal.

END

* * *

Think of the Empire Strikes Back, the second movie in the original Star Wars Trilogy, and how that left a lot of unanswered questions. . .

There will be an epilogue to this that will tie in the prologue.

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know.


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Simon winced as his back hit the deck, Kaylee's weight hitting him directly in the gut. Sparks flew and metal whined as it was stretched to the snapping point. Lights flickered off, glass shattered, and smoke poured from cracks in seals that he should not have been able to see through. Small splinters of light shooting through the hull were nearly blinding in their sharp contrast to the dark room.

He wrapped his arms around Kaylee in an effort to shield her body from debris hurling about the room, but it was no use. There were simply too many. He couldn't protect himself, much less the pregnant woman in his arms. But he tried. He covered her head with one hand and her abdomen with another.

The floor buckled and Simon rolled over to try and further shield Kaylee. Just as he moved, the ceiling cracked and something hurled its way down toward them like a heat seeking missile and struck Simon in the back of the head, momentarily knocking him unconscious.

He roused at the sound of Kaylee's strangled cry, and with a groan, he glanced down to see her gasping for breath, hands tightly cradling her stomach.

Simon took a deep breath and closed his eyes in an effort to force away the dizziness. He hadn't prayed in a long time. In the split second it took his mind to decide what to do, Simon prayed to any God that would listen to save Kaylee and their child.

Large heavy panels crashed beside them on the deck, and Simon panted heavily as he pulled himself and Kaylee to her feet.

"We need to get to the Infirmary!" Simon cried over the noise.

Kaylee doubled over in his arms, her weight forcing him against a buckling wall. "Can't! Hurts too much!" She reached out to steady herself against him, her body trembling.

"We need do this!" He coughed as the smoke pouring from the engine began to affect his breathing.

Kaylee's head whipped around to take in the damage her ship had already sustained. "_Serenity –"_

Simon's voice was suddenly calm. "There's nothing more you can do for her."

Kaylee's eyes met his and he could read her fear as easily as he could understand the complexity of the latest medical procedure. He was certain the look only mirrored his own.

She didn't speak, only clutched his hand tightly in acceptance and began to follow him out of the room. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed it; the large, metal beam sailing toward their heads, its descent slowed as it struck any obstacle in its path and crushed it. Simon knew they wouldn't have enough time to get out of its path; so he pushed Kaylee just as the beam struck his back and knocked him to the floor.

Kaylee screamed and all Simon could remember before his vision went black was his prayer.

* * *

Elsewhere, as the ground rapidly approached, River closed her eyes, tightened her fingers around the controls to steady the ship as best she could, and braced herself for impact.

END

* * *

The Prologue and Epilogue of this story are told in 'present time'. The rest of the story is the past, and what led to these moments.

It's a bit different kind of story telling than I usually do, and when I had the idea, I wanted to explore it.

There are some things not covered in this epilogue for a reason.

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know.

Yes - there will be a sequel.


End file.
